Hard-Ons

Sometimes, you just have to get stuff down while it's fresh in your mind. If you don't, you run the risk of sanitising what you feel and think in the moment, right here, right now.

So...just in from seeing the Hard-Ons play at the Underworld. The last time I saw these fellas play live, I was probably about 19 years old, and they were touring with the Stupids. The Stupids were the darlings du jour of the NME at the time. American hardcore was just starting to get an airing over here, adults were skateboarding, Thrasher magazine, Tony Hawk and Dogtown were adored by a whole UK generation loving the U S of A. The Old Punk was putting on every band who embraced this scene at the Wharf/Topspot, so bands who graced the front cover of the NME could also be seen for a quid in a snooker club (please see the global phenomenon that is Green Day as reference...). Good times...in fact so good, that I had Hard-Ons crashing on my living room floor on that tour (oo-er missus), and I developed a crush (does nothing ever change?) on the guitarist/singer Blackie.

Fast forward 23 years. And they were good. They look marginally older. They can still rock. They are still funny and very Australian. They are NOT fat OR bald (quite something these days). And after the first number, they take their tops off (quite something ANY day in my book). After they played, we made our way over to the merch stall. Ray spotted us first. "Huddersfield!" he cried. And apparently, Blackie had recognised me straight away (be still, my beating heart). Ray said me and Blondie had lost weight - keep talking, Ray...you're saying all the right things... It was pretty bizarre, but a really nice experience. 23 years gone by, and yet we reckoned time had pretty much stood still (provided we avoid bright lights and close scrutiny).

(I also went to Tally Ho! at Finchley Artsdepot last night with Nadine and Smiff. It was a really nice evening - a little lyrically poignant and sad-making towards the end of the evening, but I am so glad we all went together. Another good night by The Local - Denis Jones was the stand-out act. He really does just get better and better, and we all agreed he was our favourite of the night. Good to see Lucy Local too - first time I've seen her this year, and I forget what a witty woman she is. Briefly spotted the musical god-like genius that is DTB, but not to speak to. Wish I'd got there in time to see Babel again too - just missed them cos of bloody traffic. Good evening/good music/good company.)

My Friend Mark

I've known most of my mates for over 20 years. Despite them all being from Yorkshire, all of my closest friends have ended up living within 5 miles of each other in North London. Not sure if this is a bit odd. It certainly wasn't by design, it just seemed to happen over time. Some of us are closer than others, but if a night out gets planned, and word gets out, you could easily get about 20 or more Northerners gathering in some drinking hole, getting on like that proverbial house on fire.

In the past couple of years, I'd become friendlier with Mark and Nadine. Years ago, Mark used to go out with my friend Smiff, and he was always part of the same scene, even after they split up. I always enjoyed catching up with them, although our catching up was a bit sporadic. We'd always laugh our heads off (Mark being a bit of a wit, with a filthy sense of humour, Nadine being no slouch in the filth stakes either). Recently, we went to see the Cave Singers and O'Death together and had a riotous night. We had such a good time, we went to see O'Death again a few weeks later with Frightened Rabbit. In December, he and Nadine had booked a chalet to ATP Nightmare Before Christmas and they had a spare berth. I've already blogged what a brilliant time I had there. I'd never have gone if he hadn't nagged me repeatedly, saying what a missed opportunity it would be, no time for caution and penny-pinching etc. 

Typical Mark. The original Mr Seize The Day. The kind of bloke who followed his dream of working in film (his love of ridiculous and obscure Italian/Japanese horror is well documented) with a passion, realising his ambitions by first wangling a job as an art department assistant on the latest Star Wars films (according to his college mate and colleague, the job consisted of 3 highlighter pens and a lot of cross-referencing on endless reams of scene sheets). Hard work, talent and enthusiasm meant his career took off, graduating to art director on the Harry Potter films, and recently culminating in an Oscar nomination for the art department/art direction on Batman/The Dark Knight.

The week before Screw and the Brummie got married, Mark fell ill. We'd just been e-mailing about going to see Vetiver at Cecil Sharp House. He rang our friend Tim (currently about to become a doctor) to say he didn't feel too good. Tim saw him and said he should go to A&E, as he looked a little jaundiced. That was the Thursday. Mark waited until after the weekend. He went to his GP, who sent him to A&E for tests. By now, Mark was very ill. It turned out his liver was failing. A donor needed to be found quickly.

Mark didn't get a donor. One week later, he passed away. 

His funeral was truly a celebration of his life. It was a humanist affair, held at Golders Green Crematorium. The music was Mark to a tee - Depeche Mode at the start, Ennio Morricone for the commital, and Huey Lewis And The News "The Power Of Love" to leave the ceremony. Three of his friends gave beautiful speeches, and the humanist minister read a piece from an interview by Mark's hero Steve Albini, which pretty much summed up everything Mark was about.

In recent years, I've watched two beloved sisters and my dear Dad fade away through cancer. But to have a loved one taken away so suddenly, and without any real warning, must be the hardest thing to bear for his wife Nadine and their families. Makes you realise how precious your time here is, and how that time should be enjoyed in whatever way makes you truly happy (and I don't mean laughing-your-tits-off stuff, just being at peace in your own head sort-of thing). Happiness and love are surely all that really matter.