Today I thought I’d talk about one of my greatest loves…

No not cake … though that’s right up there

Music

[This was first posted in January last year, I’ve tweaked it slightly and pressed republish. Some posts deserve a second airing.]

To coin a phrase music … was my first love and it will [no doubt] be my last. I don’t care what you say music can evoke special memories, resort you to tears, make you smile or send you into a spontaneous dance.

Hey … some of us even sit and record ourselves singing in the car over on instagram stories!!

Music can make or break a ‘moment’ in a film , or come to think of it real life.

Take for example Psycho and the famous shower scene … it wouldn’t be quite the same with the ‘shoop shoop’ song playing along cheerily in the background now would it?

The Mr and I both share a love of music and we were talking earlier about the songs we would play for a certain situation i.e your happy , or your sad song. I’ve already mentioned  the songs that make up the soundtrack of my life over on Meet Tracey & Liz [go have a read afterwards]

This was just a bit of fun with the Mr firing questions at me and these were the first responses I flung back.

I thought I’d share them with you… [as I’m typing no doubt more songs will keep popping into my head – so many songs, so many memories !]Here goes :

Song that evokes a childhood memory

Peters and Lee – ‘Seasons in the Sun’

“Goodbye to you my trusted friend

We’ve known each other since we were nine or ten

Together we climbed hills and tress 

Learned of love and ABC’s”

At weekends my brother and I  would often stay over at Nan and Grandads House.

I’d probably be about 8 years old and my brother 6. Their front room was very homely but always on the dark side despite the large full length windows that stretched the length of the room. It smelt of tobacco and consisted of deep mahogany  furniture.

There was also a grand fathers clock, the budgie cage [the budgie escaped one day when Nan was cleaning out the cage. She forgot the window was open and off he tootled …but the cage remained] a rather large side table that mum insisted we both kept away from to avoid scratches and the like. It cost an arm and a leg apparently and wasn’t child friendly.

Taking pride of place in the centre of the room was the prize rocking chair. My brother and I used to fight over who got to sit in it.

As a treat we’d have jelly and ice-cream for supper before Mark was ushered upstairs to bed.

My brother Mark had to go to bed slightly earlier than me. To avoid arguments I had to pretend I was going too.

Nan used to wink at me [it was our secret signal ] sometimes Mark would catch her and start winking too. He had no idea why . We’d all sit there winking at each other.

When Mark was safety tucked up , I’d come back downstairs where the rocking chair was all mine. Nan loved Peters and Lee and would stick ‘Seasons in the Sun‘ on her record player. My nan always wore a tabard, laughed and trumped a-lot. It must be where mum got it from! Funny the things you remember.

We’d sing along like our life depended on it … me rocking until I felt like I might take off. Grandad smoking his pipe while looking on bemused. I loved those nights.

‘Seasons in the Sun’ = nan’s laughter and the simple joy of a rocking chair.

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Song I first purchased

Buggles – ‘Video killed the Radio Star’ – released 1979

“I heard you on the wireless back in 52,

Lying awake intently tuning in to you

If I was young it didn’t stop you coming through”

I bet half of you are like whooooo?

I was 8 .

It was bloody catchy , if slightly annoying.

It reached number one in 16 countries.

They were slightly weird. I’ve always been drawn to weird. You only have to look back at my ex-boyfriend for confirmation of this!

Every Sunday  between 4.00 and 6.00pm I’d  disappear up to my bedroom for a few hours to listen to the Top 40 on Radio One.

I’d sit and tape my favourite songs. Yes taping the Top 40 was a ‘thing’ back then. I became quite the expert at cutting off the DJ chat at the beginning and end of the song.

‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ = my first grown up purchase and the start of the slow demise of taping!

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Song to play at my Funeral

Gosh this is a hard one and something I’d rather not think about to be honest …

I think the song that most people would associate me with is by my heroine Debbie Harry – Blondie and it would be either ‘Sunday Girl’ or ‘Heart of Glass’

I’d like to think of my friends and family rocking in the aisles, celebrating me and my life.

AND I still want to be her. Look . BEAUTIFUL!

Song that always make me cry

Bette Midler – ‘Beaches’

“Did you ever know that your my hero

and everything I would like to be

I can fly higher than an eagle 

For you are the wind beneath my wings”

The film was bad enough [in a good way] a proper tear-jerker. Both ET and Beaches reduced me to a blubbering wreck.

Yes you heard correctly chuffing ET . Anything that involves  a near death situation with a dog or an alien and you can guarantee tears. In fact the other night I was off again. ‘I am Legend’…when Will Smith has to strangle his own dog Samantha. I was in bits.

When Will blew himself up right at the end I was like oh well.[anybody with me here?]

If you’ve not seen ‘I am Legend’, sorry I may have just ruined it for you.

‘Beaches’ = Loosing somebody very special

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Song that reminds me of ‘the girls’

Oh gosh were to start…

Elvis – ‘Wonder of You’ 

“When no one else can understand me

When Everything I do is wrong

You give me hope and consolation

You give me strength to carry on”

Many a wedding [mine included] we’ve got up on stage, clinging onto each other [out of love but mainly to remain up-right]  and sang along with the great man. I say sing very, very loosely. It was more like the cats chorus.

I feel very lucky and privileged that I have a close set of fabulous, funny and caring friends. The kind that are there for you no matter what… and who LOVE a good sing song.

‘Wonder of You’ = Friendship

Robbie Williams – Rock DJ [& another dance track that I could hum to you but I honestly can’t remember the bloody name] 

In the year 2000, I attended the only henless hen-do I’ve ever been on. [long story]

We spent a manic weekend in Maguluff or as we nick-named it ‘Megamuff’. The bride for unforeseen reasons couldn’t make it.We didn’t find out about that until we were on the mini-bus on the way to the airport!

Kevin the blow up doll who we had brought along for her entertainment became the honorary bride and dressed in a t-shirt with the brides face on went everywhere with us. Beach, meals, clubbing!

It was maybe the craziest weekend of my life [make that THE craziest] I have such fond memories. I can still feel that hangover!

Every time I hear these songs its 2000 I’m in a club in Majorca, drinking, dancing and belly laughing with my favourite ladies, a gang of lads on a stag do who got naked at the drop of a hat and a blow up doll we named Kevin , who was dressed as Rebekah. You still with me?

I can remember showing my late gran the holiday photos on our return. She slipped me a cheeky wink and asked “are those men naked Tracey?” I got banned by mum from showing them anybody else … you know just in-case they got the wrong impression.

‘Rock DJ’ = Madness, Majorca, Henless Hen-dos and this t-shirt ! [all harmless fun]

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Song to listen to when things aren’t going as planned

Paulo Nutini – ‘Last Request’

“Slow down, lie down

remember its just you and me

don,t sell out , bow out remember how this used to be 

I just want you closer, is that alright?”

I had a happy marriage but after 7 years together I realised we had grown apart; my husband desperately wanted children and its something I had never really considered/ or wanted.

The hardest thing I’ve ever done [EVER] was to tell him I wanted to separate. He cried, I cried. It was one big fat OLD mess. I felt tremendously guilty . It was a dark, dark time for me.

Why is it when your sad you play sad songs? Perhaps I wanted to cry until I could cry no more. Perhaps I didn’t think I deserved to be happy?

Whatever the reason this was the song I played on repeat for a long, long time…

‘Last Request’ = Breaking somebodies heart

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I thought I’d ask my friend Sue to name a song that brought back fond memories for her Its actually one I had forgotten about but one that brings back fabulous memories for me also.

Sheffield used to have a fabulous nightclub called Josephines. We [the girls] frequented there more or less every Friday, Saturday and Monday night for many years. Its sadly now closed.

The DJ always used to signal the close of the evening by playing ‘New York, New York‘ …Everybody ; friends and strangers alike would stand in a big circle, singing along , kicking their legs from side to side…

We’d then brace the cold nights [or rather early mornings] air and crawl the short distance to Chubby’s for their famous chips and cheese, before jumping in a taxi home.

Those were the days!

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So I’m going to leave it there, or we will be here all night. Music is something I could talk and talk and talk about.

Lastly [ and out of interest] I asked the Mr what song he associated with me?

I was 100% sure it would have been a Bowie or Blondie tune … but no, no, no  it was infact Cyndi Lauper -‘Girls just want to have fun’ … the reasoning – I’m ditzy, slightly mad and I like to have fun.

He’s not far wrong…

Until next time, Tracey x