A poignant birthday for me, if not Matt (above), as Dad lost his last teenager to the terrifying twenties last Tuesday.
There’s loads of great teenage songs, heh ?
Well, not much beats the already classic one released last month;
Dave “all music stopped in 1979” Southworth had never heard of Olivia, but then I doubt he’s heard “Teenage” by the UK Subs, either. Charlie Harper was actually older than I am now when he sang this on Top of the Pops;
As you see, Matt is taking middle age in his stride, and was enjoying a late breakfast at Elnecot in Ancoats when I caught up with him, Emma and James (below). Note my emergency Shindigger.
After Bury I’d nipped to the Etihad to buy Matt a present. No-one had told me City were champions; when did that happen ?
Matt first saw City in 2008-09 and still thinks Stephen Ireland is their best player, but being a barber is expected to have ill-informed views on the beautiful but pointless game.
While Matt gave James a cut I set off of a long walk round the city that contributed to those 14.44 miles I showed you yesterday,
failing to find the new Vocation bar and meeting up again at Fierce, which is quickly becoming my local. Oooh ! Imperial Doughnut Ale !
I could have stayed and worked through the list, but had blogs to write the next morning, and an appointment with tacos and cocktails at Luck Lust Liquor & Burn, which isn’t a Holt pub. My first ever cocktail. Ugh.
Great to see the city bursting back to life, queues on a Tuesday evening and all, and I suddenly felt jealous of a 20 year old.
Till I realised how many years he’ll be working to pay off Eat Out To Help Out.
retiredmartin 
For anyone who read the first version of that blog, no Matt did NOT give James a tattoo !
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Imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed Olivia Rodrigo! Thanks to Spotify I can now focus on The Marauders.
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Of course music didn’t stop in 1979. It was 1983.
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I think it stopped when Andy Partridge got stage fright (or a mental collapse while performing: March 18, 1982 at Theatre Le Palace in Paris https://diffuser.fm/andy-partridge-nervous-breakdown/), meaning that XTC ceased touring and performing live, which meant they lost their drummer. A band has to have a drummer – without one they can still make good records (see Skylarking, Nonsuch, Apple Venus), but it becomes impossible to resist a descent into nurdling, in-fighting and eventual break-up.
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Fantastically detailed answer and possibly correct.
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There’s some doubt on Pubs Galore as to whether the new Vocation bar is called Vocation (or Vocation & Co), or whether it is subsumed in Society, the name of the venue in which it is situated. http://forums.pubsgalore.co.uk/showthread.php?34814-Erroneous-Rename-Manchester&p=117087#post117087 (WhatPub agrees that it is called Society.)
Good luck in finding it!
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Pre-retired Martin:
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Only the Old Grey Whistle Test could make the Adverts sound prog.
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I saw the Adverts live, and I’ve got their first album. You’re right – the BBC’s useless sound technicians make them sound like Deep Purple. “Sitting watching the planes burn up through the night like meteorites” is as prog a line as you could hope for – or not, as the case may be. The technique with punk bands was – surely – to drown out the vocalist with the noise from the guitar, bass and drums; no matter how loud he sings. In fact, the louder the better.
The point was to *understand* the lyrics even though you couldn’t hear them.
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Deep.
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Hmm. I was going to just reply with “Superficial”, but then you’d say “Deep” again.
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Pretty much the same thing with Jools Holland: everything sounds better with boogie woogie piano
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Was going to say anything on BBC TV including Jools, OGWT and the Peel sessions always sounded flat to me.
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Hi, Martin, did you follow the directions to Vocation in my recent blog? I tried to make them as easy as possible. Good read as ever anyway!
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Hi Chris (it is Chris, isn’t it ?). It was your post that alerted me to the Vocation but I’d run out of internet as Mrs RM had bought me a new phone so I had to try and remember your guidance and forgot !
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UK Subs! Now you’re talking👊👍 magnificent and even better than that belter of a pint!!
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Pretty much next to Manchester Central & Bridgewater Hall , planning a trip tomorrow, near where Tommy Duck’s was if helps 😁
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Thanks, Mark. Will be there next week and try again.
Too young to remember Tommy Duck’s, which gains in reputation every year since it was demolished !
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