Back There, Then

"Saturday afternoon, the sunshine flows like wine though your window" - These lines from Ocean Colour Scene came flooding back to me as the thunderclaps echoed outside. The only thing that was coming through my window on this particular afternoon was the rain, which as pelting so hard it had managed to penetrate the waterproof seal.

I had, during the course of the previous week, been listening to the audiobook for Ben Elton’s “Past Mortem“. One of the things I have discovered on those weekday afternoons when 5 o-clock can never come soon enough, is that the itunes audiobook section is my saviour. Anything that can whisk you away to another world whilst still leaving you able to fulfil the basic requirements for a pay-check has got to be encouraged.

This particular story was written around the life of a man whose life had taken a dramatic turn after looking up is former school friends on the Friends Reunited website. It was with this fresh in my mind I had found myself on this soggy Saturday scanning a list of names from my past.

There were many I have to confess I don’t believe I knew even then, but every now and again there were names that unleashed a floodgate of memories. From clicking on these names I could see in the most abridged detail the direction these people had taken since we parted company almost a decade ago.

In the majority of cases the date we had parted company was August 21st 1997. Don’t get me wrong this wasn’t a date I had committed to memory, In fact it wasn’t until several hours later I had remembered it al all!

I had been sorting through my by now largely redundant CD Collection. My 60gb iPod had made the sizeable mass of plastic in my room nothing more than an occupation of space. It was here in my CD collection where I found myself gazing at an album cover to which I had never really given any regard.

The picture on the cover was a homage to Keith Moon. A Rolls Royce semi submerged in a swimming pool. Around this pool were a scattering of miscellaneous objects including the style of large wooden wall calendars you would only ever see in banks and post offices. It’s date was the date of the albums release, August 21st.

It was always going to be an important date. At the time Oasis were the biggest band in the world, and their long anticipated third album was even the subject of a BBC 1 Documentary. The whole world was waiting for the Gallaghers to do it again, well almost the whole world. Some of us had other things on our mind. Some of us were about to collect our GCSE Results!!

The results weren’t good in the traditional meaning of the word. Even in the slightly faded courier font on the printed page the words “Maths -D” where blindingly obvious. The one bloody subject I needed at least a C and I’d screwed it up!

We took a bus from Steyning to Shoreham and then the train to Brighton. I’m sure I wouldn’t have been quite so worried about that large capital D if I had known I was about to make my own contribution to Rock’n’Roll History.

You see that Thursday morning it seems Be Here Now had already sold exactly two zillion copies, and by the time I had arrived at MVC the number of Discs presented by the record companies had ensured that the Gallaghers now own 96% of the worlds platinum. As I handed over my £12.99 I had helped Be Here Now become the fastest selling record of all time, a record that still stands today.

Well OK so I’m not the guy who turned down the Beatles but hey, it’s a start!!

It was a Brilliantly sunny day that Thursday as we headed back to Ashington for the a post results BBQ. It was to be the first of many get-togethers during what will be (avoiding redundancy) The longest summer I will ever have! And to me, Be Here Now was it’s Soundtrack

That’s what makes Be Here Now, in my mind at least, the Greatest Record ever made. It’s more than just an album! It is the Day I left School, It is 21st August 1997!!

(Oh - And for those of you worrying I eventually did get that C in Maths! It seems I‘m not thick, just quite lazy!!)