Seeds of Obssesion

Like most of you out there, I’m pretty obsessed by music. What bothers me is that I can’t really seem to put my finger on what it is that’s hooked me in. I mean, there’s no particular genre that I’m interested in, no particular scene. Is it the historical aspect: sociopolitical, autobiographical, legend? Is it the art? The artwork? The communities? The characters? Is it just a plain old beat fetish?

Is it the fun of taking your opinions to battle? Probably, I like that!

I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to single it out, but I can shine some light on the beginnings of my obsessions.

First Favourite Record: Three Blind Mice
That’s right, I had a 7” recording of this nursery rhyme which I used to play on a battered old portable record player that my parents handed down to me. I wish I still had it, as it featured that cool stacking mechanism where you could just load up your records ready to drop and play. Anyway, this 7”, which I still have, was so old that it was a 78 RPM! On a 7”! Shit, I must have been real young!



First Album: Soft Metal – Various Artists
Oh shit! What a slip up! Nah, this album was actually really good, plus it came out in 1988, so I was like, 9 years old! I remember that my older brother bought it for me for my birthday at my request. When I told him what I wanted he said “I’m trying to get you in to Thrash Metal, not fucking Soft Metal”! He got it for me though, and just to try and exert his influence, he also got me a copy of Slayer’s ‘Hell Awaits’! What a man!

But back to Soft Metal. It had some classic tracks, check it!



1.Alone - Heart 2. Kayleigh - Marillion 3. Here I Go Again - Whitesnake 4. Ride Like the Wind - Saxon 5. Shot in the Dark - Ozzy Osbourne 6. Don't Stop Believin' - Journey 7. Dead Ringer for Love - Meat Loaf 8. One Lonely Night - REO Speedwagon 9. Final Countdown 10. We Built This City - Starship 11. Calling All Heroes - It Bites 12. Golden Brown 13. Nothin' But a Good Time - Poison 14. Body Running Fast 15. Screaming in the Night - Krokus 16. We Care a Lot - Faith No More 17. Burning Heart - Survivor 18. St. Elmo's Fire - John Parr

Not sure what Faith No More are doing on there with the likes of Starship and REO Speedwagon, but Damn, there’s some skypunchin’ sing-a-long soft rock classics on there!

First Gig: Johnny Death and the Deadheads – Tonypandy Con Club – 1990-ish
Local legends in the Rhondda Valleys, The Deadheads rocked out staples from the likes of the Stooges and Slaughter and the Dogs, as well as their own tracks like Car Crash, Elvis is Stiff and Jesus Sucks! My brother joined them on Rhythm guitar in 1990 and took me along to one of their shows at Tonypandy Con Club. I was 11 years old, wearing a shell suit.

The poster is below and you can hear The Deadheads at the Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Johnny-death-and-the-deadheads/26336057916?ref=ts



First Favourite Band: Guns n Roses
Appetite for Destruction changed my life! I took it to my Junior School Disco in 1990, but my teacher, Mr Smith, ripped it off the turn table 15 seconds into ‘Welcome To The Jungle’, in favour of ‘Agadoo’ by Black Lace. My friends used to come to my house to listen to it because it had swearing on it! I was too young to realise that the robot on the original cover was raping that chick!

It’s still top of my list!



Stop The Rock
It may seem like it was all rock n roll, but my mother influenced me heavily with her collection of Motown Records (which are mine these days). I don’t think anybody would argue that Berry Gordy Jr’s imprint is the greatest record label that this worlds ever seen. Lil’ Stevie, Martha and the Vandellas, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Junior Walker and the Allstars, Jackson 5... Holy Shit! I’m going to listen to ‘Heatwave’ as soon as I’m done typing! Which is now!

You can enjoy it too!