The Week That Was – 22nd July 1979

Record of the week: I Don’t Like Mondays
Highest entry: Sparks – Beat The Clock – 21

17th May 2022 – Well, there you go. After writing about my dislike for this song ‘I Don’t Like Mondays’ now, I liked it enough to make it my favourite record then.

22nd July 1979
When I did my leg in yesterday hurdling…well, nothing happened to any other part of my body until today, I can’t move my head
10p 2p 54p*

17th May 2022 – I recall a time I woke up and couldn’t move my head, it was stuck to one side and trying to move it was intensely painful. I’m not sure if I worked it out at the time or much later but I’m guessing it was probably related to sleeping on my front, something which I may have mentioned elsewhere, which was because I heard that Jimi Hendrix had died choking on his own vomit when laying on his back. I sure didn’t want that to happen to me.

As I write this and think about it, I don’t think that was the real reason. It was just a bad habit I had picked up as a kid, I’m sure. Sometimes, before falling asleep I would pull the sheet and blanket up over me and pretend my bed was a spaceship with the controls down the edge of the mattress. I probably played this until I fell asleep laying on my front. Star Trek repeats on TV would’ve been an influence. Maybe Dr Who as well.

23rd July 1979
I made a Star Special featuring Sid Vicious
2p 17 1/2p* 40p*

17th May 2022 – I’m guessing a Star Special was some kind of feature in a magazine like Smash Hits or something like that. As they would never do one on Sid, I did it myself. The genesis of my DIY journey?

24th July 1979
Why ain’t Sex Pistols No. 1?
2p 55 1/2p*

25th July 1979
Made an ??? by Steve Jones. Great
Must get Boomtown Rats I Don’t Like Mondays
2p 2p 51 1/2p*

17th May 2022 – My bad handwriting. I’m dreading looking at some future diaries for their inexplicable, illegible scrawl, some blotched by humidity or damp.

26th July 1979
1. I Don’t Like Mondays
2. Tubeway Army
3. Silly Games
4. Dave Edmunds
5. Dooleys
6. Knack
7. Chic
8. Sex Pistols
9. Lady Lynda
10. Supertramp
2p 47 1/2p*

27th July 1979
Part 6 of the Dickies saga
I GOT IT.
Look at 25th July. Well. I did.
Part 7
2p 45p*

17th May 2022 – The Dickies first album had a huge effect on me. They played fast and with great melody. It was fun and frantic and featured great songwriting on their originals and also made the covers they did their own, fitting seamlessly into this set of songs. I didn’t even know ‘She’ was a cover until much much later. The picture on the album cover was also so cool. These were days of pouring over every minute detail to fill in the blanks. Cool crazy haircuts and clothes. Without a lyric sheet, I would try to discern the furiously fast words as best I could so I could also sing along. Were these people even real?

28th July 1979
Dunno
First Dunno since 27th June
4.4 weeks. 32 days.
2p