Simon Spedding 1977 to 1982

Punk Rock (1977-78)

Punk came along in 1977. Actually it was around in 1976 but not in Lincolnshire. I discovered it from accidentally tuning into John peel one evening. Jeff did the same and we did not tell each other, as this would mean a loss of cred'. I had the upper hand when I found out that I had been listening on FM and Jeff was on medium wave. All my tapes of the stuff were therefore much better quality. The first stuff I really got off on was Television, Jonathan Richman, and the Ramones. The Pistols, when I eventually heard them sounded boring. Ramones were like cartoon Beach Boys, both melody and power. I had not heard anything like this before. I am sure there was stuff out there but it had not come to my ears. Television were just hypnotic. I just listened to Prove It over and over again. I wasn’t quite sure what there was about Jonathan Richman I just loved him. My mum liked him, Jeff liked him even little Nell, aged 8 liked “The wheels on the bus”, my Dad as usually did not say anything. Listening to, taping, and buying punky new wave records dominated 1977 and 1978. By the time I left school in 1978 I had over 100 singles, which was more than anyone else in the school.

Nick was the only one I knew with anything like real interest in the new music. We used to bring a tape recorder into school and listen to each other tunes. I would also bike over to Cadney to see Nick. He lived in a signal house by the old railway, still does by all accounts. His mum and Dad were a bit hippy and Nick was listening to some of their music. We listened to the Incredible String Band, Tom Paxton and stuff like that. It was good stuff but not Now. Nick had the 12” anarchy single and I had the Ramones, we debated who was best but never argued. Both were a million times better than Showaddywaddy and the Disco shit that was around. Nick’s mother also had the most enormous backside you could imagine, not fat just massive!!

I suppose I was never really a punk, I still listened to Abba, Beach Boys (weren’t they the Dad’s of the Ramones?), and Queen and while still at school my social side was dominated by footy and cricket along with the music. Each week I would enter in my diary who Leeds United were going to sign next, who had scored the goals for them, How the England cricket team was doing. The latter was not as bad as you may think. This was the era of Botham, Gower, Boycott et al

1978 was O level and CSE year so there was plenty of revising to do for the spring and summer exams. In between watching Blake’s 7, the Old Grey Whistle test, Rutland Weekend Television, TOTP, and of course Sport I would browse my school books. I was the sort of pupil who, if I had tried would have been quite a clever lad, but I would rather mess around and have fun. This meant that when it came to revision I couldn’t really be bothered to do too much. Just enough that would get me the pass. It did not work like that though. I sat tech drawing and History mocks and thought they were quite easy.  The real thing was different. I eventually passed O level English, Maths, Geography, and got CSE 1 for History. That was it the others were minor grades of O level D’s and E’s or CSE 2’s and 3’s. It looked like I would have to go back to school to wherever we moved too. I could not really get a job anyway as we were moving to somewhere it Wiltshire. I knew nothing about Wiltshire apart from they had a shit football team at Swindon and there was Salisbury Plain and Stonehenge. That was it. Earlier in the year we had been down to the south coast fro a holiday and did a bit of house hunting but I cant say I took too much notice. It later transpired that we were moving to a brand spanking new 4-bed house in Semington and small village on the A350 just south of Melksham.

Summer 1978

I started to go out with Anne during the summer and would cycle the dozen or so miles to Bonby to see her. The only thing that kept me from her was any TV series that featured the latest in Punk and New Wave. That was until I convinced her to watch it too. 

In July 1978 I took part in a school cycle ride across England and Wales. From Cleethorpes to somewhere called Criccieth in north Wales. This was great fun but within 3 days of getting back I had left Lincolnshire and headed to Essex for the rest of the summer. Leaving friends, family and Anne behind.

I spent the whole of the summer holidays in Brightlingsea in Essex, staying with my Nana, my Mother's mum. She was slightly batty but I was bit of a favourite with her. So much so that, many years before I had spilled some of my dinner on the floor. My Mum told me off but Nana leapt to my rescue by accusing my young brother Jeff of flicking the food under my chair so that I would get the blame!

I had a job at House’s the local newsagent. I would do two paper rounds and then help stack the shelves in the shop and sweep the floor. This gave me enough income to buy a bus ticket into Colchester and buy records every week apart from clothes the only item I had taken down to Essex was my huge great record player which was one of those hulking great wooden cabinets with a lean-to radio and a gramophone behind a wooden door.

I wasted the hours and days when I was no working by listening to the local radio stations and pirate radios and playing my latest singles by the likes of the Buzzcocks et al.

I took a couple of addresses from school mates but the only one I had any major correspondence with was Dave although I did get letters from Shuttie and Haggis.  I spent a lot of time reading the witty letters and trying to outwit him in my replies. We wrote nearly every week and we even ran a story so each of us would write a chapter. One story featured Snipper Sam the hit and run circumciser!!!This went for years and years, until e-mail came along and then we exchanged the odd e-mail. Some friendships never die.

Wiltshire (1978-79)

In September 1978 dad picked me up from Brightlingsea, driven through London and off towards Wiltshire and a new life. The day we moved into our new house was also first day at school. My Mum had gone out and bought a school jumper. The 6^th form did not wear uniform. I was not going to wear any either but my mum insisted that I either wear it, or go without. So through October I went to school with just a shirt on and freezing to death at the bus stop. 

At first I was not to bothered about friends, I met a couple of the lads from Semington, Steve, Boner And Jon, they were into a bit of punk so that was ok. The sixth form was mainly swots who wanted A levels and listened to total drivel although Derek and Clive did make it on to the 6th form record player once. And what did I want, I just wanted….. well I am not sure what I really wanted.

Sixth form started slowly but I gradually established new friends. Tim  was impressed by my music so we shared John peel listenings. No one else doing the A level thing had much of a taste in music (well not mine anyway). I was known as the kid who hated pop and was 6 months ahead of his time. Everyone I championed took 6 months to hit the mainstream including the Police, Dire Straits, The Specials.... The common room had a record player (which I eventually trashed with a couple of others during a snowball fight) but not much got played to my taste. We managed to get Riders on the storm on once but the consensus was boring. I took the new Police album in (Outlandos D’amour) but this was slagged off as being punk, Dire Straits too. There was no saving the 6^th formers of George Ward; they’d have to suffer in their pre-occupation with Genesis and Yes as being the most creative forces in music, ha ha.

Eventually I started to hang out with a group of Simon , Carolyn, Suzanne Evans, Gini, Louise and some others.  It was then I knew what I wanted and I quickly fell for Gini, not only was she cute and nice looking she was into the punk thing. It took me from late September until 6^th November before we were “going out”.  I loved the time with Gini, we used to meet under the stairs at school and walk back from school part of the way and generally have a good time. All music and innocent fun. Great stuff

We went out for 39 days and it included a trip in December to Bath Uni to see Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias, with Police supporting. What a cold night that was on top of a hill in November with just a tee shirt on, and outside after somebody set the fire alarm off. The gig was great John Dowie came on first and did some great skits; one was tribute to Julie Covington who had just covered song “Only women bleed”. John felt this was sexist, and as man does not menstruate he did his answer: "Only men shave". The Police came on next and did a great set. I had picked up two of their singles (I can’t stand losing you in blue vinyl in the Woollies 40p bin) and heard them on the radio so knew most of the songs. Gini did not know anything but thought Sting was bit of a hunk. I had come to see the Albertos who were absolutely fantastic with skits and piss-takes of every genre of music you could think off. I had a couple of their LP’s but live they were dynamite. My favourite track of the night was the “Showaddywaddy/ Doo wop”version of Anarchy in the UK!

  Soon after this however we split up but remained very good friends for years after.

Christmas 1978 and Dave Westfield came down from up north. When Dave came down something crazy or great would always happen. This year it was writing daft songs and Dave going out with Bev from the village. We also managed to walk into Melksham a couple of evenings and walk back bending all the road signs around the wrong way and walking back from Trowbridge too. 

I discovered Cruisin records in Bath during 1979/80 and used to get there as often as I could. I spent hours just browsing and buying singles that just looked cool. Some even sounded great. I remember walking in there in 1980 to the sounds of Wah Heat singles ”Better Scream”. I was totally freaked by the song the power of it was amazing and yet it was a totally controlled power, unlike anything punk which tended to be out of control. You just identify with a moment in time some songs. This one is associated with Cruisin. The guy Andy who ran the shop later opened a second hand shop also dealing in bootleg tapes in Bart's Bazaar. By the time this opened I was working in Bath and could spend lunchtimes in the chatting and listening. By the time I was working I was probably buying around 5 singles a week.

I got involved with the School magazine and wrote an article on the death of punk and tried to enlighten the school. Nobody cared they were all into the Beegees and Gloria Gaynor. God I don’t know why I bothered sometimes, in fact I don’t know why I bothered ever. 

I found a local-ish disco in Atworth and about 5 or 6 of us used to walk the four or five miles there just so we could strut our stuff to whatever the DJ would class as Punk or Rock. This varied from week to week and could be anything from Buggles to AC-DC. So whole lotta Rosie got a good head banging much to the disgust of the locals who one night decided they would do us over. We were safe inside the hall and had to climb out of the toilet window to escape a pasting, all of us except for Steve Petty who got lumped going out the main door.

1979 began with me still at school and spending time watching my favourite TV progs, which were the repeats of Monty Python and The Water Margin. I still loved the latter when it was re-shown in the late 90’s and tried to get son Lewis into it as a 7 year old. There was also the music shows on TV like Rock goes to college and The Old Grey Whistle Test. There was nobody apart from Tim and Virginia to share the info with though.

Around this time I started to baby-sit for Lyn who lived over the road in Semington. She and her partner had a big record collection and I spent the time listening to all these late 60’s and early 70’s stuff. Most of which was boring as hell but some of it must have sunk in as in later years I added many of them too my record collection. The only No-No’s were Genesis, Yes and Supertramp type shite, which I have never ever liked and sure I never will, EVER. Lyn also had a job that involved changing records in pub jukeboxes so I soon had a supply of all the latest ex-hits. 1979 was a good year for pop with the crossover of punk to mainstream in full swing and each week top of the Pops would have Blondie, Skids, Buzzcocks, Rats and so on

During the summer I tried desperately for a new girl I’d taken a fancy to; Alison. I mean really desperate measures. So desperate in fact that I joined the mock election society at school as a Tory. Ow that hurt as a staunch red, but to get a girl I’d try anything. . The real elections came and Thatcher came along to save the west! My only confession was despite hanging around Alison and the Tory group I did not vote for them. 

I had a brief period as the 6th form celeb when I appeared on radio One’s “Quiz Kid” with Kid Jensen. I flopped however and finished third of the four in my round. I still have the tape. I had a great time in London for the day and took the Alison from my election experience. My attempt to woo failed, as did my self-esteem.

W.O.R.K. (1979)

As the spring arrived I sat my mock exams, the results were very mixed, so I sort of decided that I’d be better working than schooling. I found a job as a trainee draughtsman in May 1979. I even got the job without the O level tech drawing that was essential. I eventually failed it for a second time when the O level results for that year came through. So much for qualifications.

Christmas 79 I went by coach back up to Brigg and stayed with Dave and family. As a west country person now I was keen to show how grown up I was and how things were better down south. “Of course I drink Cider now” I boasted as we went out for a Christmas Eve piss up. By the end of the evening I was sat at someone’s stairs feeling very much worse for wear having consumed 9 pint of Cider. Dave and me got a lift home and I managed to wind the window down in Dave’s friend's Dad’s car to get fresh air. It did not work and I threw up all down the outside of the car. Christmas day was spent in the toilet and trying to walk off a mother of a hangover. It eventually went when Dave’s dad gave me a glass of cider, which made me puke but gave me the appetite to eat the Christmas lunch.

Winter 1979 was a “Winter of Discontent” with a steel strike in full flow. I hated the Thatcher Tories who were in power but the Unions were crippling the company I worked for so I hated the Unions too. Not even the dreaded Tories could do worse, could they?  The firm I was working for eventually closed down in spring 1980and I was unemployed. The day the firm closed down I went off into Melksham and got totally pissed. I’d pinched some crayons used for writing on steel work. I wrote on one of the walls in Melksham “All mods are w**kers” as I finished the s of w**kers I felt a hand on my shoulder, oh f*** a mod! I was wrong it was a copper. So off down the station, fingers prints etc. this was followed up with a lecture from the top cop and a letter home, which my mother read and just cried. Her son was a troublemaker

I spent three weeks on the dole, just listening to records and writing, “did nothing” in my diary. The week I started work I ended the week going to the Undertones gig at Bath pavilion. The support was the Moondogs and dolly Mixture. This was the best gig I had ever been to. I pogoed and danced and grooved all night. I hung around after and got autographs of Dolly Mixture and the ‘tones. Only trouble was they had to sign a fiver, as I had no paper. When I left the pavilion I tried to jump a short wall and managed to get cramp in both legs. I didn’t care a shit I was so thrilled by the gig

Luckily Nick who I worked with had a wife working at Wessex Water. I got an interview with them and joined Wessex in April 1980. It was at Chippenham. I rode my bike a few times. I timed myself as taking around 35 38 minutes to get there and 25 minutes home having spent a fortune on getting it roadworthy. I also shared a lift with my Dad but decided I’d have to get a car. Gini by this time was also working in Chippenham so also got a lift. Now I was on the road. Perhaps it was time to start gigging? Oh and perhaps I could get girls, who knows?

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