Friday Five

Don't be misled by the title, folks. It is Sunday today.

Here is this week’s selection from Sunday Stealing so let’s just hold our collective noses and jump right in.

1. Have you ever had a great conversation with a complete stranger?

I certainly have – but more so recently. In the dim and distant past I used to be painfully shy and then I decided to take on this affliction. I still am shy – I haven’t won by any means – but now I find I have a better ability to chat to complete strangers. I’ve had some interesting conversations, some disturbing conversations (perhaps a future blog post about those) and many that have led to friendship. I recommend it. As long as the person is friendly and responsive, why not?

2. Where did you go on the very first vacation of your life?

My first holiday was down to the south coast of England to the coastal town of Brighton for the first of three holidays. I have fond memories (through a child’s eye) and to be perfectly honest I haven’t been back there since I was around thirteen. We stayed at a hotel owned by a retired cockney couple called Harry and Hetty (I can’t believe that I still remember their names – it was probably in 1971). Hetty in particular loved my blond hair and at every opportunity she rubbed my hair, asking me to promise to give her a lock of it. I think I did to be honest. Why she would want a piece of my awful, self-aware mop I have no idea.

3. Open the door of your refrigerator. What is the first thing you see?

A carton of apple juice.

4. What is your favourite place in your home.

It depends on the time of day and what I am doing. When I get up, it is the lounge, which we had redecorated last year, complete with new sofa and various other bits and bobs. The sun shines in all day so at the weekend in summer it is beautiful. I also love where I am now, in the back room, typing this post and listening to Rammstein’s new album. At night time, of course, it has to be the bedroom.

5. If you had wings to fly about the universe, where is the first place you’d land?

I would land on Mars and see if there are any tardigrades roaming about. Some people believe that there was once life on Mars, so I would look for evidence of that by searching for tardigrades. If you don’t know what they are, they are tiny almost indestructible creatures that live on Earth and have survived in space and, theoretically according to a recent article I read, actually live on the moon courtesy of Messrs Armstrong and Aldrin. I would love it if the theory were correct.

6. What is the first thing you do when you get in your car?

I close the door. It’s dangerous to drive with the doors open. That was the first thing my driving instructor told me.

7. What is special about the town you live in?

Manchester is a city and capital of the north of England. It is special because it is far friendlier than London (as are most UK places to be honest) and we have everything else you would ever need. Great food, great pubs, great things to do, great history and wonderful people.

8. What is the last thing you heard about your first love?

Not sure what you mean by “first love” so I will just mention my first serious girlfriend. To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. She is probably still living in Walsall and married with kids. I have no desire to look her up but I would be friendly if I were to bump into her.

9. If you had created the world in seven days yourself, what would you have created on the First Day?

A decent rock band. That way I could get on with creating the rest of the world with some background music to entertain me.

10. How do you beat the summer heat?

I am quite lucky to live in Manchester because our summers are mild (as are our winters). We recently hit the heady heights of 32 degrees centigrade which is as hot as it ever gets. That is completely bearable so I sat in the garden under an umbrella enjoying the heat and chatting to Mrs PM over a glass of wine. When abroad, however, if it gets too hot, I just seek shelter. The hottest I have ever encountered is Oman at 46 degrees Centigrade. It was so hot that it hurt and I sought shelter in an air-conditioned office or my hotel room.

11. Did you enjoy your Senior Year in high school?

By “Senior Year” I am guessing that you mean my final year before I went to university. In short – not really. I hated my school, even though it helped me get where I am. Imagine being in an all-boys’ school when all of my hormones were screaming out for female company? No thanks.

12. Who is your favourite First Lady of all time?

I don’t have one to be honest. I find most politicians to be abhorrent human beings (especially in America) and I have no interest whatsoever in their spouses.

13. Post a link to your first blog post.

My very first blog post was about my favourite football team (soccer for Americans). Here it is. That was in March 2008. I felt old then – I feel REALLY old now.

14. When was the last time you needed First Aid?

I cut myself while chopping vegetables about a month ago. A plaster resolved the situation

15. Can you explain what a first down is in football?

There is no such thing in football. Ah – this is an American question so you must be talking about American Football (or rugby for wimps). I cannot explain the rules of that particular game. I watched the Super Bowl in the 1980’s for fun but it was anything but fun. It lasted for ages and there were adverts every five minutes. It was slow and dull and basically involved a bunch of big American guys wearing crash helmets and crashing into each other in a frenzied few seconds every minute of two. I got the gist of the game but for goodness sake, make it more exciting and take off all of that armour to make it interesting. Rugby Union and Rugby League are far more exciting.

Fewer Than 5000 Questions

Here are this week’s questions from Sunday Stealing.

Let’s dive right in, shall we?

1. Have you read anything by C.S. Lewis?

Yes – two books actually and both as a child:

Out of the Silent Planet

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

2. What is your favourite movie with Jack Nicholson?

I’m going to cheat and say three because I simply cannot pick a favourite out of them:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

The Shining

Batman

3. What rhymes with 'orange'?

Blorenge. It is a mountain in Wales.

4. Have you ever swallowed an object by accident?

Yes. I accidentally swallowed a jellyfish.

Don’t panic, dear reader – it was cooked. I was in Hong Kong and I was chewing an unknown bit of food and I asked our host what it was. When he told me it was jellyfish, I meant to spit it out but in shock I accidentally swallowed it.

To be honest, it wasn’t that bad and I actually ate jellyfish again in Japan – this time voluntarily.

5. Is your eyesight 20/20?

Absolutely not. I wear glasses and without them I am as blind as the proverbial bat. I am Mr Magoo.

I am horrifically short-sighted and have worn glasses since the age of 8. And now I have to wear expensive varifocals.

People have said I have nice eyes. I would willingly swap them for ugly ones that worked properly.

6. Have you ever had insomnia?

Yes – most recently because I accidentally made a cup of monster-raving-loony , full-fat highly caffeinated coffee by mistake. I am almost totally decaffeinated now (including tea) so I ran around like a demented lunatic for two hours before bedtime and then spent the first four hour lying in bed with caffeine flooding through my veins and shaking me awake when my body threatened to succumb to slumber.

It was bloody awful.

7. Does it bother you when people touch you?

It depends who it is. If it is a friendly person then absolutely not.

If it is a mugger or a policeman arresting me for crimes against fashion then most definitely.

8. Is it better to get too much or too little sleep?

I think it’s better to get too much sleep. My body works like clockwork – seven and a half hours every night (unless I’ve accidentally drunk a caffeine bomb).

9. What gets your adrenaline pumping?

Anything that scares me – like tall buildings and public speaking.

10. Do you ever talk about yourself in the third person?

Only when I refer to the Plastic Mancunian, the persona I use for this blog. When I see something noteworthy or funny I say things like “The Plastic Mancunian needs to write about that!”.

Mrs PM thinks I am mad.

11. What's your favourite radio station? What kind of music do they play?

Please don’t get me started on radio stations because I will rant mercilessly.

Bugger it! I am going to anyway.

There are NO radio stations that play my kind of music and it annoys the hell out of me. All of the popular radio stations I try to tune into when driving, say, play inane pop music, old songs that were hits decades ago, terrible dance music, appalling rap music and other bilge.

I don’t want to turn on a radio station and hear songs from the 1980’s that I hated in the 1980’s.

I want to hear decent rock music – or some progressive rock.

For example, Iron Maiden are a huge British Heavy Metal band, you may have heard and have been around since the late 1970’s. They fill arenas when they go on tour and have millions of fans worldwide who love their music.

But can I find a radio station in the UK that plays even ONE of their songs? In a word NO!

Thank goodness for the internet.

Here is a beautiful rock song that you will never hear on a British radio station because the owners, producers and DJ’s only want to spoon feed you the latest bilge to come out of Simon Cowell’s bland music factory.

12. Do you believe there is anyplace still undiscovered in all the world?

I would like to think so and if so, I would love it to remain that way.

13. Ever caught a fish?

I have held a fishing rod for approximately five minutes before handing over to my friend who then caught a fish about ten minutes after that. Does that count?

14. Were you ever in the first row of a concert?

Yes – a couple of times. I was in the front row for a rock band called Dare and actually high-fived the singer.  It was in the late 1980’s and that band featured Professor Brian Cox (the famous phycisist – famous in Britain anyway). Here is a song from them at that time.



The biggest band I have been in the front row for is Deep Purple when they played the Manchester Arena. I wasn’t close enough to touch the band members (there was too much security in the way and a huge gap between the first row and the stage) but I almost caught a plectrum thrown by Steve Morse, the guitarist.

15. Do you have any autographs?

Yes – but you will never have heard of them. When I was a kid, my dad took me to Mansfield to see Walsall (my favourite football team) play away. As we walked outside the ground, the coach containing the Walsall players turned up and I managed to get most of the players to sign the football programme for me. One of them was my absolute hero at the time, a striker called Alan Buckley. I still have it upstairs in the loft and it is one of my most treasured possessions.

This is Alan Buckley – an absolute legend!

For the Queen's Curiosity

On Thursday of this week we had the July hottest day on record in the United Kingdom. Now, it is raining – as it did yesterday.

UK weather can be depressing and to lift myself out of the doldrums, I thought, for a laugh,  I would answer some bizarre questions that I found on Sunday Stealing until I actually force myself to write a proper blog post drawing from the inane nonsense in my head.

Here goes:

1. What is the nearest book to you?  Your Kindle does not count.

The nearest book to me at the moment is my Kindle. However, next to that sits “The Dictionary of Insulting Quotations” by Jonathan Green. I love reading insults, the funnier the better. Here’s an example:

Nancy Astor to Winston Churchill: “If I were your wife, I would put poison in your coffee.”

Winston Churchill in reply: “If I were your husband, I would drink it!”

2.  When was the last time you took a "me" vacation

Earlier this year. Mrs PM and I went to Vietnam for the first time, which was her idea. However, I insisted that we pay a visit to Hong Kong on the way back. I love Hong Kong and I always feel at my most content when exploring that amazing city.  Mrs PM also being there with me was the icing on the cake. I like to think Mrs PM enjoyed it too.

3.  How many telephone numbers do you have?

If you count work then three. We have a landline that we hardly ever use and I have my own personal mobile phone. I would willingly refuse to answer my work phone though.

4.  If you could fix one thing in the public school system, what is the one thing you would do immediately?

By public school, do you actually mean those schools in England where the super-rich pay extraordinary amounts of money to send their obnoxious children only for them to leave and then do their best to ruin our country by becoming a Conservative Prime Minister like the nasty blustering clown that a tiny minority of Conservatives have just elected?

If you do then I would close them in favour of normal schools and then overhaul our entire education system to make things more equal instead of biased towards the privileged few.

5.  Are you a big tipper?

No I am not. I know that in America it is expected but in the UK and Europe, it isn’t because a lot of the times service charge is included. If it isn’t then I usually only tip if the service has been good.

6.  Do you watch reality shows?

The only one I watch is The Apprentice (the UK version) because I love to see useless egomaniacs brought down to earth with a crash. I watched the American version once or twice but soon became sick of watching Donald Trump’s ego seeping out of my TV screen.

I can’t stand other reality shows because they are full of people who just want to be famous but have zero talent whatsoever.

7.  Who is your favorite sports team player?

I’ll tell you in May next year when the football season is over.

Note for American readers – when I say “football” I do not mean American football. I believe you guys call the sport “soccer” for some crazy reason.

8.  If you could travel in a spaceship to any planet, which planet would you like to visit and why?

I think that would have to be Saturn because it is beautiful –just as long as I don’t have to land there.

9.  When was the last time you sat in a church?

In 2017. I do not go to churches other than for weddings and funerals, or if I simply want to take photos of them.

10.  Are there any aspects of blogging that annoy you?

From a personal perspective, I am annoyed with myself for not posting more often. I am now trying to remedy this situation by making time to do so.

11.  When someone follows you on their blog or subscribes to your Facebook page, do you automatically follow and subscribe back?

I am on Facebook but only in name. I tend not to use it at all unless somebody takes a photo of me and tags me (usually with me pulling a funny face because I hate having my photo taken).

If somebody comments on my blog, I usually return the favour and pop across to theirs (if they have one).

Book of Questions

Here we go again – stealing questions and answering them on a Sunday morning.

As usual these are from Sunday Stealing so let’s dive straight in.

1. Do you think the world will be a better or worse place 100 years from now?

I love technology so I would like to think that we will have achieved a lot of things by the year 2119. Sadly, though, it is becoming evident that there is a price to pay and I don’t think that we will see what that is until it comes to bite us on the arse – and then it will be too late.  I would love to see what it is like – I really would – but I fear it will be worse, thanks to the toilet we are making of our planet. I’m ever the optimist though and I have faith in humanity to sort things out.

2.  Would you accept $1,000,000 to leave the country and never set foot in it again.

At the moment, with Brexit looming again, and the outlook for the UK under the clown prince of idiocy, (Alexander) Boris Johnson, the answer is a definite yes.

3. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the body or the mind of a 30 year old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

I’m a relatively old git now and my body is falling apart slowly, which is something I am getting used to. My mind was really sharp when I was 30 years old (albeit a little naïve) so I would gladly live until 90 with my mind from that time.

4. What would constitute a “perfect” evening for you?

A couple of beers with Mrs PM, followed by a nice meal and a progressive rock concert (which sadly Mrs PM would not want to attend because she hates my music).

5. Whom do you admire most?  In what way does that person inspire you?

That’s a really difficult question to answer. As an ageing cynic, I believe that a lot of people, no matter how good they seem to be, have a hidden agenda. That said, I was very impressed with Barack Obama and his bid to become the first African American President of the USA, especially given the mess being made at the moment with Donald Trump in charge. It just goes to prove that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it unlike the arses we have had as Prime Minister in the UK for the past decade or so.

6. Do you prefer being around men or women?  Do your closest friends tend to be men or women?

I like being around both men and women. I am lucky to count both within my circle of close friends.

7. If you could use a voodoo doll to hurt anyone you chose, would you?

Oh yes but only if the doll was an effigy of a complete and utter arse like (Alexander) Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Nigel Farage, Jamie Oliver, Piers Morgan and an ever increasing list of people that is too long to publish at the moment. And I’m a nice guy so it would just be enough pain to make them realise what arses they were being and hopefully change their ways as a result.

8. What is your most treasured memory?

There are far too many to mention – and more being made as time goes by.

9. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?  Is there anything you hope to do that is even better?  (Let’s exclude raising children, if you have them)

I have travelled extensively to a lot of very interesting countries, both with work and for pleasure. I like to think that I have made a small difference to people I have met and if their memories of me make them smile, that’s even better. I do hope to write a book at some point in the future when time permits.

10. If you went to a dinner party and were offered a dish you had never tried, would you want to taste it, even if it sounded strange and not very appealing?

Yes indeed – but it depends what it is. I have eaten some very strange food in my life, especially in China and Japan, so I’m not averse to trying something new as long as I know exactly what it is.

11. Do your close friends tend to be older or younger than you?

Both. I have close friends of all ages.

12. How do you feel when people sing Happy Birthday to you in a restaurant?

I feel very embarrassed. I’m not very good at being the centre of attention.

13. When you tell a story, do you often exaggerate or embellish it?  If so, why?

I have been known to exaggerate on occasion, usually to get a laugh out of a funny story.

14. If a friend were almost always late, would you resent it or simply allow for it?  Can you be allowed to be on time?

Mrs PM is always late, despite my best efforts to make her more punctual. I usually allow for it but I moan in the hope that they will get fed up me going on about it.

15. If you could have free, unlimited service for five years from an extremely good cook, chauffeur, housekeeper, or personal secretary, which would you choose?

All of them. I need more free time to pursue more interesting hobbies.

Sad Sleepy Survey Rambles

It’s a rather dull Sunday afternoon and I am sitting in the back room with the Cricket World Cup Final on in the background as England, who destroyed Australia in the semi-finals (sorry – I just had to say that), attempt to beat New Zealand.

It’s a good time to answer a few questions from Sunday Stealing.

Have you ever been teased because of the things you like?

Yes – repeatedly. I don’t really care to be honest. I have been teased for my views on politics, sport and music. For example, in the case of music, I am treated like a dinosaur by my younger work colleagues who claim that nobody likes the style of music I listen to. I beg to differ. Besides – I like what I like and I don’t care.

Do you hold grudges?

I try not to. If somebody upsets me or does something particularly nasty, I simply ostracise them. I suppose in a sense you could say that is holding a grudge but I think this is just removing them from my life. If somebody has done something terrible, it is better to remove them rather plot some kind of vindictive revenge.

Were there any classes you enjoyed because of the teacher?

In junior school, I had a crush on a teacher, so you could say that I really enjoyed classes with her. In later life, at the grammar school, there were one or two teachers who made the subject at hand enjoyable by their teaching style, keeping me interested even though I didn’t necessarily like the subject. I guess the answer is yes, therefore.

Was there a dress code at your school?

I went to a grammar school and the dress code was very strict. Pupils in the first and second year had to wear a school cap on the journey to and from school for reasons that I have simply never been able to fathom. This was particularly bad for me because I had to walk quite a fair distance and there were a couple of other schools on the way that had more relaxed dress codes. Local kids did not like kids who attended the grammar school because they assumed it was upper class. I was definitely not upper class, coming from a working class background and living on a working class estate. The journey to and from school with a stupid cap was therefore fraught with danger and sometimes I had to face groups of kids whose sole purpose was to ridicule me or, worse, to steal the cap. To make life easier, I chose not to wear it. But even then I was spotted by a teacher who happened to live near to me – and I was in trouble on numerous occasions because of it. I guess this is when I started to become a bit of a rebel. When I finished my third year, I burned the cap on a bonfire in my back garden. My parents were angry with me. I didn’t care.

Have you ever been a bad friend?

No. I am a nice guy and I always try to help people no matter what the circumstances.

Has a friend ever replaced you with somebody else?

Possibly. I have lost touch with people so I guess that they have replaced me with other friends. Nothing specific leaps to mind so I suppose in many ways, I have replaced them too.

Have you ever disliked something just because it was popular?

No. I dislike things because I don’t actually like them. If it happens to be popular, that’s irrelevant.

Have you ever watched a movie just because it starred an actor you liked?

No. I watch movies because I like them, not the people who are in them.

Are there actors/musicians you have met?

I have met a couple of musicians that you probably haven’t heard of. For example, I have met three of the five members of the English rock band Thunder.

Do you ever judge people based on the music they listen to?

I try not to. I do express my distaste for their music though – as do they in return.

What about your top five music albums?

That’s a tough one. I will give you my current top five albums:

Second Life Syndrome by Riverside

Renaissance Men by the Wildhearts

Empath by Devin Townsend

Resist by Within Temptation

Distance Over Time by Dream Theater

I may try in future to list my top five albums of all time – but I think that will take some time to work out.

Do you remember the first album you ever owned?

I certainly do. Given that I like progressive rock, progressive metal, hard rock and heavy metal, you may be surprised.

It was Donna Summer’s Greatest Hits.

Do you still use an mp3 player, or just your phone?

I still use my iPod because it can accommodate all of my CDs. My phone simply does not have the capacity. Also, the battery on my iPod is far superior to that of my Samsung Smartphone. If the technology and capacity and battery life of phones improves, I may swtich in future.

Do you like Elton John?

I like some of Elton John’s early music. His version of Pinball Wizard is magnificent. I also like Song for Guy.

Have any celebrity deaths hit you hard? Which one(s)?

I wouldn’t say any celebrity deaths have hit me hard – but I was affected by the death of David Bowie.

I Love Questions

I’m back!

I’ve had a bit of a strange year so far and sadly blogging has dropped right down the list of stuff that occupies my time. I may spill the beans in the future but hopefully I will soon get back to normal inane crap on this little corner of the internet that I use as an outlet for my weirdness.

Something else I haven’t done for ages is to answer a set of questions from Sunday Stealing so to ease myself gently back into blogging, I’ve decided to have a go this week.

Let’s dive straight in.

1. Are you satisfied with the way your life is right now?

I think the answer is yes. After a few ups and downs I think stability is being resumed and I have a rough plan of action for the next ten years or so. 

2. Do you drink enough water?

I made an effort at the start of the year to make drinking a lot more water a regular habit. But then I did some research on what this really means and I have cut down a little in favour of other drinks like tea, coffee and fruit juice. One of the main problems with constantly drinking is the number of trips to the loo and Captain Paranoia tells me that my friends and colleagues have started talking about where I disappear to on a regular basis. They may be right – but I don’t actually care.

3. When was the last time you ate at Burger King?

I haven’t eaten at Burger King for well over a decade – nor McDonalds come to think of it.

4. Do you prefer the beach or the mountains?

I love the tranquillity of sitting on a beach, listening to the waves gently lapping up on the shore. That said, I also like the clean air and views of the mountains. I think the beach wins because it is easier to get to.

5. How do you usually feel when you wake up on a morning?

It depends on the day. Monday to Thursday I feel  tired and depressed because I have to go to work. Friday is good because it signals the last day of work and the start of the weekend so I feel content. On Saturday and Sunday I am relaxed and happy.

6. Would you rather take someone on a date, or be taken on a date?

I would rather be taken because I think the other person would have to try and impress me rather than the other way round.

7. When was the last time you wore high heeled shoes?

I have never worn high heeled shoes. Why on earth would ANYBODY wear them? Mrs PM struggles massively in them and I have to suffer because we can only walk so far and at such a slow pace that snails are overtaking us.

8. Vodka or wine?

Wine. I avoid spirits.

9. How often do you cry?

Not very often and usually over daft things.

10. Ever had a crush on a teacher?

Yes. When I was about 10 years old we had a young teacher called Miss Thomas and I had a severe crush on her. She was gorgeous.

11. Can you wire a plug?

Yes. I would really struggle if I couldn’t.

12. Do you wear socks to bed?

No. They make my feet itch.

13. What is currently bugging you?

Don’t get me started. Okay – two things. The ongoing disaster that is Brexit, which is embarrassing enough – but then the prospect of having the most untrustworthy lying clown as our next Prime Minister. If you think Brexit makes the UK a laughing stock – wait until Boris Johnson is in charge. God help my country! 

14. Can you change a car tyre?

I have never changed a car tyre. I have changed a wheel though.

15. Have you met more than ten celebrities?

It depends what you refer to as a celebrity and your definition of “met”. Although I have seen many famous people out and about I have only ever spoken to a handful of them. Do you count footballers and not so famous band members as celebrities?

16. Do you sleep naked?

No. I won’t go into the reasons why.

17. What was the best music gig you’ve ever attended?

I have been to too many to make a decent choice. Maybe Queen in 1986. 

18. Have you ever had sexual feelings for anyone you follow on line?

No. I don’t think you can judge a person in such a way unless you actually meet them. Call me old-fashioned. Also, Mrs PM would almost certainly perform a nasty operation on me.

19. Who is someone who has changed your life positively.

Many people have changed my life by helping to steer me in the right direction over the years. I think I’ll dedicate the question to some of the teachers who stuck with me when I was an obnoxious teenage brat. I doubt any of them are still alive – but you never know.

20. Favourite city?

In the UK it has to be Manchester. In the rest of the world, Hong Kong.

21. Can you drive?

I have been driving since the age of 24. 

22. Cigarettes or alcohol?

Alcohol. I have never smoked. 

23. Favourite and least favourite accents?

Bizarrely I quite like listening to Dutch people speaking English. My least favourite accent is probably that faux southern accent that supposedly hip and trendy celebrities try to speak to make them seem “down to earth” – for example Jamie Oliver.

24. Did you play Red Rover when you were a child?

I had to look this one up and I discovered that it is a descendant of a game called British Bulldog, which was banned at my school because it was too dangerous. So I think I have played a variation of it.

25. Do you like 1980s fashion?

Absolutely. I started that wonderful decade as an eighteen year old and tried my best for the entire ten years to fit in with the bizarre fashions on parade. I love the 1980s.

So that’s it for now.

I’ll leave you with  a feel-good song by the great  Devin Townsend with a video that features a gorilla playing a bass guitar and elephants playing drums.

Back to the 1990's

After the brilliant 1980’s my life changed once more in the 1990’s and it will remain a turbulent, yet ultimately enjoyable decade – particularly towards the end.

So much changed in the 1990’s in terms of music and fashion with new forms of music evolving from the legacy of the previous decade; at least that’s how it was for me personally. I suspect that as I matured, so did my musical taste. The elements that had shaped my musical choices  thus far were still evident but I was starting to enjoy a deeper appreciation of the actual tones and lyrics of the songs I enjoyed instead of being a young man bouncing away to your average pop song.

The 1990s gave us Indie Rock, particularly in the Madchester scene which was centred on Manchester itself. Some of the bands that erupted onto the music scene from my adopted city became famous overnight and were ubiquitous in the city centre bars and clubs.

Pop music was now rather boring for me apart from some aspects of the Britpop scene and Indie Rock and I sought solace in other genres including my old favourites and grunge.

Here are some examples of the music I liked in the 1990’s.

Tasmin Archer – Sleeping Satellite

Some pop music still appealed to me, particularly the more melodic songs that graced the charts. In the 1990’s I was still listening to the radio in bursts and occasionally a song like Sleeping Satellite would attract my interest with its soulful lyrics and it would stir an emotion in me that reflects the rollercoaster I endured in that decade. Such songs had a distinctive 90’s feel to them, something I struggle to elucidate, so the best thing I can do is let you listen to the song in the hope that you will see what I mean.

The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony

Indie Rock became prominent in the 1990’s and plenty of new British bands erupted onto the scene and shared some success in the charts with other genres that, sadly, didn’t interest me. The 1990s was the decade when I sadly felt that I was beginning to lose touch with tastes of younger people for the first time. I suppose I was growing up a little bit even though you might say that in my 30’s I should have been an adult. Adulthood is a state of mind in my opinion and not something that defines you just because your body is older. Anyway, enough philosophy; Bittersweet Symphony was one of the many Indie songs I enjoyed in the 1990s.

Air – All I Need

Towards the end of the decade, I rediscovered ambient electropop as my life started to settle down again. I found it relaxing and a far cry from some of the heavier music I still enjoyed. In particular, an album called Moon Safari, by French duo Air, completely blew me away in terms of its emotional appeal. This song is from that album. I discovered it by accident while I was working in Hong Kong thanks to a free CD that appeared on Q magazine. I popped into HMV and listened to the album on headphones and fell in love with it. The album is one of my all-time favourites and would be one of my desert island disks. That surprises people who know that I love heavy metal but I like to think it shows my taste is quite diverse.

Nirvana – Lithium

I can’t mention the 1990s without mentioning Nirvana, the band that personified grunge. I liked grunge but for a while it threatened to take over the rock scene completely pushing heavy metal and similar genres out into obscurity. Thankfully it slotted in alongside similar genres. I actually had a ticket to see Nirvana in Manchester when tragically the lead singer, Kurt Cobain, committed suicide. I was deeply saddened by this because the band came from nowhere to be globally famous and the pressure took its toll. This is one of my favourite songs by the band.

Queensrÿche – Out of Mind

Progressive rock was still a niche genre in the 1990’s with a cult following. Rush, my favourite band were still going strong but others were popular on the rock scene. One band in particular, Queensrÿche, appealed to me because their albums in the early part of the decade were intelligent and very well written with thought-provoking lyrics, ranging from melodic ballads to heavy hard rock songs. Out of Mind is an example of the band’s more melodic offerings.

Metallica – Enter Sandman

Any rumours that heavy metal was dying in the 1990’s were totally false. In the 1980’s Metallica burst on the scene as an antidote to the “hair” metal of that decade, with songs and albums that were hard, fast and heavy. As pioneers of thrash, Metallica were responsible for face-melting heavy metal. In the 1990’s however, they released The Black Album and adapted their style to be more appealing to the mass market. Enter Sandman is a heavy song – there is no mistaking it – but it certainly grabbed my attention. It was – and still is – a great song to drive to.

And finally...

The 1990’s was a rollercoaster for me but the music certainly helped me cope with those stormy years. I learned a lot, suffered a lot but left the decade a better man and that makes me happy. I still look back with fondness at the music.