THE MEMORIES FROM THOSE DAYS OF PUNK.
Just one specific occasion. In general, it was a period of life you wouldn’t change at all. Just the one night.
Way back in 1977 or 1978 I wrote this song below ‘Innocent Victim’. Being born in 1956, I was a 21/22 year old. Now, reflecting on the instrumental nature and value of this song, I believe it has potential to be completely rewritten. The lyrics certainly have to be rewritten to have a completely different up to date story. Naive and didn’t keep well at all. The whole energy of the punk vibe with ‘play fast and rush to the end of the song to avoid so much ‘spit’ coming your way from the audience whilst we were playing on stage’ has to be slowed down too.
Yes, Punk! We had ‘gob’ spit-thrown at us on one specific gig that was truly atrocious. Disgusting on hindsight. A sign of appreciation! We were the victims of punk driven rock and roll frenzy and fantasy. Pogo dancing audiences, punk style, was an essential to get to a height where a well aimed projectile of deeply brought up spit could be aimed and received where the individual wanted it to land on you. That awful substance of expectoration came from saliva glands that were located in the lower body anatomy that only aliens possibly possess. Yes…..I was a nurse. Hence the posh medical words.
INNOCENT VICTIM AUDIO. NEEDS CRANKING UP. VERY QUUET RECORDING…..
A really rough cassette copy recording. Recorded from a live rehearsal. Very much in the nature of Punk quality wise. If you were there…….you were there.
After this particular filthy gig, Brian James, the guitarist from The Damned, came up to us afterwards and said ‘Well done for tolerating the vile deluge’. I am posh paraphrasing here. He probably had more appropriate words of sympathy. His heart was in the right place. Empathic really, because of his witnessing ‘from the outside looking in’ reality. He’d probably suffered the ‘on the inside looking out’ equivalent reality at times with his own successful band. Don’t know that for a fact though. So don’t quote me.
This song? I loved writing this melody and song’s dynamic as a younger guy fairly new to punk culture. Never witnessed the intensity before at the extreme end of how appreciation from an audience at a gig was shown. But this song, and another song called Audience, especially remind me that we were a part of the true punk vibe. Got the T-shirt so to speak.
So…..’Innocent Victim’. Maybe a rewrite is definitely needed to exorcise the memory demons. I love an emotional challenge of ‘getting rid of past negatives, change the old realty of awful memory to a new cleaner/powerful vibe reality and ostracise those past experiences to Hell’s oblivion’ scenario.
I appreciate now that the audience wanted to be included with the frantic vibe we had produced. Albeit the nature of the way appreciation was demonstrated. And, a much self-liked, self written song is a song to be lovingly altered to a hoped for decent self-loved, rewritten song. Could an update get a similar positive reaction? At 68 years old? A ‘Well done old bean’ will suffice. Hacking up phlegm can still be a reaction. But spit it out into your newly ironed handkerchief. And when washing it afterwards, don’t put it in the washing machine with the tea towels. Better still, buy those little packets of throw away paper tissues and use those. Then put the offending used article into a suitable hazard safe container ready to be disposed of correctly by burning.
As said…..once a nurse, always a nurse. Infection control matters!
That was a very weird blog write up! I reckon contamination from those days has finally took hold and escaped from the body cells that they’ve been hiding in for decades. Crossed my blood/brain barrier and are creating the crazy stuff that nighttime haunted dreamland produces. The dreams that make you wake up sweating and flailing your arms about so as to ward off the viral punk driven enemies from cuckoo ‘spit-pint’ land’.
Innocent Victim? A rewrite? Nah! Leave it where it belongs……,
Gray Summers 
I definitely hear punk in Innocent Victim. Super fast playing. Wow! Cool song. I like all the pictures and news write-ups too! Sweet!
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Thanks Sheila. Just looking back at some more rock based vibes with new age/punk drive. I was speaking to the drummer, John, yesterday in Messenger. We were saying about capturing the first Team 23 line up sound which was really quirky. A five piece without the added two brass players later on. Keyboards were involved heavily and we’ve in nicely with the guitar riffs. Just need to find an overall sound now. I may put up the songs I feel could be recorded properly now from some of my experimental GB recents. I want to get those 14 songs by November and focus on tailoring and recording each one. Then Bandcamp and YouTube beckon. The punk scene was a blast. So much energy. Cheers Sheila.
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You have a great plan there, Gray. Keep on going.
Fun to hear about the punk scene days!
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I don’t know much about nostalgia, but I cherish the fun memories from my childhood that occasionally remind me of a sweet, innocent time.
like that amazing song, the scrapbook memories are part of your ongoing life story. each chapter contributes to the book you’re still writing. honoring those experiences without trying to change them is really special.
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Cheers cookie. Those photos are snap shot off the internet. I do have the Coventry Telegraph write up somewhere in the house. My Mum bought it because we were in it. Mum’s do that sort of thing. I am pleased you have your fond memories. And calling them sweet innocent times is exactly how childhood should be remembered. Gives hope for the future being exactly the same. Adults should really strive to retain those attributes. I recall one of your blogs saying much regarding influences from your female family members. My memory is poor cookie. So can’t ever recall exact content. The Aphantasia disallows any visual memory. So nothing to hang a pictorial hat upon. Only word memory, which you can’t recall fully due to its proliferation. I can read books over again and again and still read a brand new story!
The songs from those days are my only links to those days. Well…..so are the photos and words to read. I can’t remember any live performances whatsoever in my mind cookie. My past is a massive dark void visually. But, hey ho! At least we have our music don’t we. That’s going well for us both. So a treasure to be grateful for. All the best.
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all saved, Gray… for a quieter moment 😬🥴
🤍🙏
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Thank you Destiny. 🙏🏽
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a treasure indeed … and again, thank you for sharing with us, Gray … great to read and to listen too…
I read …then sometimes re read lol… enjoyed always 🤍🙏
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It is a very busy blog this one. Lots of included articles from newspapers too. The past holds much information at times in certain periods over years. So pinpointing one theme is vital. I actually have to re-read often. Takes me three or four attempts to fully understand others’ blogs at times. 🙏🏽
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good that you have these for memories, Gray…
…lol and re reading yours , I meant… sometimes something stands out and sticks…so I go back and forth 🤭
🤍🙏
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Yes. That ‘spit’ certainly stuck. 😆 I seldom look back because I own no visual memories Destiny. Aphantasia can be a burden at times. My fprefkections are usually born from having curiosity of past events. Because I don’t know them in their entirety any more. So there is a line in a lyric I am writing that is ever changing. Currently it is ‘I’m on the outside looking in….at my world. Don’t think I’ll ever fit in, it’s a strange world’. Again so many 🙏🏽 you’s. All the best.
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