snubnoseuk wrote:I am putting together a questionnaire, thanks to the good Andy. Hands up all those who are happy to participate.
Count me in. Since I became politically aware I've always thought that, by growing up in Britain, we were all taking part in some massive sociological experiment run by those 'in charge' anyway. So, snubnoseuk, analyse away.
I feel like I can trace my goth roots back to an age earlier than I would ever have heard of anything at all to do with it. The first records I bought, aged 7 or 8, were by The Sweet, Gary Glitter, and other glamrockers of the time. Even then I was aware that most of the songs were loud, beat-laden, and either about celebrating or moping about lost loves. The seeds of gothdom had been planted. And there was an accent on make-up and dressing up too...
The next thing I really got into was punk, at about 11 or 12. Again, lots of loud guitars, songs about either being really happy or really, really pissed off, and more excuses to wear clothes my mother didn't want to see me in. Again, the direct line to World Of Goth (t.m.) continued.
I stumbled through the post-punk world of Simple Minds, Magazine, Joy Division and Tubeway Army etc. until a friend played me 'Body Electric/Adrenochrome'- this was when the fuse was really lit. On we went through Alice, Anaconda and The Reptile House, stopping along the way to meet the charming Mr. Eldritch before The Sisters played The Gallery in Manchester. He even signed my fag packet! Now there really was no turning back...
Time passed; the records, Black October and eventually The Albert Hall came and went, and the clubs- Peppermint Gardens in Warrington, Planet X in Liverpool, to name but two- slammed in and faded out. All the time, however, there was a feeling that we were different, we were just...better, especially as the rest of the north west lapsed into the uniform of the shell-suit. We had the best clothes, we had the best drinks, we had the best drugs, we had the best sex, and of course we had the best music. And what's more, the music and the lifestyle seemed to reflect the realities of life in the shadow of the bomb.
Because, I suppose, that was when I was happiest, and (or because) that's when my life seemed to hold the most possibilities, then I've never really changed inside. Whether it be Acid House, the rest of the dance revolution, or anything else, NOTHING has ever gripped me like goth, whatever that is. Nothing ever suits. The world has changed, and the records and the gigs have come and gone, but Ol' Father Goth, he just keeps reapin' on.
Blimey- that really WAS supposed to be a one-line comment. Anyway, got it off my chest...
My car's faster than your mum, but not as dirty.