The music of my childhood

Nowadays, I like lots of music. Mainly with guitars. Mainly sung by men around my age. Mainly blokes with beards it seems too. Anyway, I got here through an education that began with novelty records, chart music, took indie rock from my brother, added in classic rock from friends, a bit of punk too, and then there was the proto-jungle phase of mid 1997 (I often forget that), american indie, Johnny Cash, and now I have my own filtered and happy tastes.

Except, that isn't how it started. Yes the first single I bought was Ray Parker Jnr's Ghostbusters. And I did help The Firm keep Star Trekkin' at number one. But what I really used to love is symbolised on the right. I loved theme tunes to tv series. If you know that's Streethawk (very very shortlived american action TV show) then you are halfway there.

Basically, I would sit near the TV when my fave programmes were on, get as close to the speaker as possible, and press the record/play button on the little cassette deck we had. Often I would get the station ident before the programme - nowadays that might be considered a remix I guess - and sometimes you could hear my mum in the background or me telling people to be quiet.

I had all my faves. Streethawk - a programme about a fantastic souped up motorbike that was used to fight crime. Airwolf - a programme about a fantastic souped up helicpoter that was used to fight crime. Manimal - a programme about, erm, a bloke who could turn into different animals which were then used to fight crime. Basically, unusual power crime based thrills. (Looking back now, Streethawk could go at 300 miles an hour and turn corners at said speed - and I believed that totally).

So then I would take my tape, and listen to it on my personal stereo - with it's 3 buttons of play, stop and ffwd - until I either got bored (never) or the tape unwound (often) and I had to thread it back in with the skill of a souped up crime fighting cassette tape detective.

There were other tunes and you can listen to them yourselves if you want and discover the Treasure Hunt gone evil forboding of Interceptor the scary BBC micro meets classical stylings of The Tripods.

Eventually the tape, and indeed my voice, broke and I moved on to other things. But I won't forget the delight I used to have with my c60 tape and the imagination that I too could fight crime in some form of souped up manner.

Never grow up ladies and gentlemen, never grow up.