A little bit country....

From a very young age I used to spend hours listening to any music I could find. Old tapes and LPs, whatever I could get my hands on. My tastes were eclectic...... the ones that stick out from my early years include Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge over Troubled Water, ABBA’s Super Trouper, Cliff Richard’s Greatest Hits (the double cassette with his profile made out of a gold record), Barbra Streisand’s Guilty and Neil Diamond’s Jazz Singer. 

As I hit school age it was all about the Top 40 hits. Sunday night’s spent with the Charts on Radio 1, a tape deck and a quick finger to get a recording of the song but not the DJ. Diana Ross’s Chain Reaction still makes me think of my P7 school trip to London (on the bus with a Walkman and the words in Smash Hits), Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, Madonna’s True Blue.

Teenage years brought full on rock rebellion. Sneaking out to gigs on the Street Legal bus, lying about where I was going and who I was going with. My friend and I used to nick her brother’s tapes; Kiss, Ozzy and Def Leppard. Then I went heavy; Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth. 

Throughout all of this has been a slight undercurrent of country...... Kenny Rogers and John Denver in the early days, Southern rock bands later; Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jon Bon’s country phase (heart!), The Eagles and, more recently, Blackberry Smoke and Cadillac Three.

Since I was diagnosed I’ve found my inner country queen has become even more prominent. My wee head can be quite sensitive so I sometimes have to watch loud bands, particularly those with heavy drums and bass. A bit of country can allow an easy to sing chorus, good harmonies and maybe even a wee dance. 

And so find myself looking at my diary and seeing an interesting mix of gigs coming up. Alongside Bryan Adams, Foo Fighters, Toby Jepson and Quireboys, there’s Midland (they’re so Country I’m not sure if it’s a joke. The Steel Panther of country music??), and Country to Country (a three day country fest, with Chris Stapleton, Lady Antebellum and Keith Urban). 

“I’m a little bit country

I’m a little bit rock n roll

I’m a little bit Memphis

A little bit Nashville”

Donny and Marie Osmond...???