Let’s see if we can get a little meme thing going here. What are your very earliest musical memories? Don’t cheat by naming the first cool teenage albums you bought; this has to be a cathartic experience for all of us. Here’s my list…
Suzi Quatro, ‘Devilgate Drive’
Ah… even without the benefit of adolescent hormones (I was 5) I knew Suzi was cool.
Gary Glitter, ‘I Love You Love Me Love’
I’m not sure about the exact song, but the general concept of Gary Glitter is clear in my memory. I used to grab a makeshift microphone (remember, kids… save the cardboard tubes from bog rolls) and *be* Gary.
Simon and Garfunkel, ‘The 59th Street Bridge Song’
Y’know… the one that goes “Feelin’ Groovy”. I don’t really remember hearing the song, which was a bit before my time, but I remember singing this (probably just the “Feelin’ Groovy” bit) with my Mum.
The Beatles, ‘She Loves You’
Ditto… I think the Beatles craze had pretty much died out by the time I was aware of music. My Mum used to sing this a lot, though.
Little Jimmy Osmond, ‘Long Haired Lover from Liverpool’
One of the most truly awful records ever. I probably loved it at the time.
Terry Jacks, ‘Seasons in the Sun’
I definitely loved this one; even now, it reminds me of being four or five years old on a hot summer’s day, when the best toys in the world were a plastic bucket full of water and a multi-coloured rubber ball. Aah… and that cool I-IIm chord progression, like on ‘Alright’ by Supergrass.
The Wombles, ‘The Wombling Song’
My first big musical heroes. I had two or three singles by them, including the hard-rocking ‘Bungo’s Birthday’. And I liked the orange/yellow CBS record labels, too.
‘Little Boxes’
“… on a hillside, little boxes made of ticky-tacky”. I don’t remember whose version it was. Pete Seeger did the original, I think, but long before I was around.
The Sweet, ‘Blockbuster’
I have a dim memory of getting out of bed, coming downstairs and being allowed to watch them playing this on Top of the Pops. I mean, it’s so cool, it has a police siren, and a proper American one at that! All songs should have police sirens, really.
When I was (I think) 5 years old, I got a chunky plastic kiddie record player for Christmas. It was probably made by Chad Valley (as all good things were back then). It came with a free record; a four-track EP from the ‘Top of the Tots’ series. I played it incessantly, burning detailed, indelible memories of the songs (which mostly were quite old) onto my brain…
Des O’Connor, ‘Dick-a-Dum-Dum’
A verbal diarrhea pastiche of swingin’ mid-sixties London. I downloaded this recently, just to revive the memories, and… it’s not all that bad, really. I don’t think I understood any of the lyrics back then… I mean, just what is the “Buckingham Beat”?
The Beatles, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’
I seriously doubt it was the Beatles version… probably a recreation by the Terence Fairbrother Pops Orchestra and Chorus, or something. Still, I’m glad I started life with at least one absolute classic in my musical psyche.
Hot Butter, ‘Popcorn’
The first ever techno record? Plinky plonky Moog sounds and a nice contrasting middle section. Until today, I never knew who it was by… check out the All Music Guide entry.
Clodagh Rodgers, ‘Jack in the Box’
An unsuccessful 1971 Eurovision entry, apparently.
So there you go. I’m really tempted to get hold of all of those and burn them onto a CD. There’s some pretty horrendous stuff there, but those songs have such great nostalgic resonance for me, I can barely think of them as crap or cheesy. Now tell me yours…