*Tube Train – 18th March 1985

Travelling on the tube train
Noise rattles your brain
Sitting on the dirty seats
Escalator takes your feet
Away
Riding on the tube train
Ride, ride, ride, ride
You’re deep inside
The underground
Taking you around
On tube trains


The Week That Was

Record of the week: False Prophets – Banana Split Republic, Husker Du – 59 Times The Pain/Girl Who Lives On Heaven Hill

18th March 1985
Started work with another kiddy. It’s quite good fun. Bloke’s pretty decent as well. Working in Sandbanks. Stayed in.
6

19th March 1985
Working on my own. Down Leigh Road. Bloke used to be in the Pretty Things.
6

20th March 1985
Working same place. Others are helping too. Went to Holtwood. Pete offered an expenses-paid concert there. Can’t be bad. Went down Hinton Martell for meeting. Saw Tammy for first time. She’s OK but always talking about herself. Scott was getting off with her last I saw.
7

21st March 1985
Morning went quick. Afternoon was boring. Mr Ashby said if Atrox want he can put us in touch with someone who can get us a record out. Rung Paul, told him about gig and record deal. Maybe practice Sunday.
6

23rd March 1985
Got Conflict 7″ Flux 7″, Husker Du LP, Stupids 7″, DOA 12″

24th March 1985
Shit practice. Gonna have a break for a while.

*Schedule – 4th February 1985

Everything in order
Everything on time
Such a perfect thing
This wonderful life of mine

I’m on schedule
I looked at my schedule

Don’t know when I’ll die
I haven’t planned it yet
But I’ll tell everyone
So they don’t get upset

I’m on schedule
I looked at my schedule


The Week That Was

Record of the week: Flux of Pink Indians – Punk Sucks

4th February 1985
Started work in the warehouse. Quite a good laugh but fuckin’ knackering. Went down Gaunts after. Chased Perry, Burt and Muz around Gaunts cos they wanted me to. Talked for a while. Came back. Fuckin’ fell asleep. Kinky dream about Lisa.
7

5th February 1985
Fuckin’ had hundreds of fuckin’ deliveries. 20 pallets of Carcases, 2 orders of Key Terrain. We didn’t have time to do it all. Had a good laugh around Gaunts. Maybe do Stumps t-shirts, have an initiation. Talked to Muz for a while.
8

6th February 1985
Pissed around on the bus in the morning. Fucked around in college. Got bus back. Wayne was on there. Had a good laugh. Got school bus. Good laugh again. Fixed drums. Got 11 people in phone box down YC. Pissed around down there.
8

7th February 1985
Don’t remember much about today. Don’t think we had a lot to do at work. Big Brian was doing the bulk lorry – he’s a cunt. Muz wasn’t coming out so stayed in. Quite a few things on telly. Something about some bikers which was OK.
5

8th February 1985
Still not a lot to do at work. Planned to leaflet the Void gig and not do a poster cos it doesn’t photocopy very well. Came home. Pissed around as usual. Went down YC – wasn’t very interesting. I think they’ve sussed out that we fiddle the pool table. Couldn’t stay awake to watch the film
6

9th February 1985
Went to Wimborne. Met Bernice. Went for pizza with Fog and Maggie. Came home. Pissed around on drums. Went down Gaunts. Sharon was there so we pissed her off. Went to Bernice’s at 7. Caught bus to Bournemouth. Went to gig. Atrox played pretty well. Then fuckin’ Bad Noise were fuckin’ around. During Disorder a couple fo fights started. Taff electrocuted himself. Got bus back.
5

10th February 1985
Can’t remember a lot about what happened today. It was fuckin’ cold. I went down Gaunts. Came back. Went back. Pissed around at the woods behind Murray’s. Dean was even there. First time for fuckin’ ages. Didn’t go out tonight cos it was too cold. Spitting Image was OK.
6

The End Is At Hand – 21st July 1984

The end is at hand – it’s the new demand
The end is at hand – destroy the land
The end is at hand – machines all unmanned
The end is at hand – everything is banned
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
The end is at hand
We’re finished………

17th June 2023 – Certainly inspired by Flux of Pink Indians somehow. I can hear their first album when I read this.

Save The Whale – 28th April 1984

Save the whale in the sea of blood
Save the whale in the sea of blood
A new handbag, a new rubber
Stop the murderers good and proper
Save the whale in the sea of blood
Save the whale in the sea of blood

2nd June 2023 – By 1984 I had already been vegetarian for two years and inspired by lyrics and information from Crass, Flux of Pink Indians, Subhumans etc I dove into animal rights. One of the first places I would go to in Poole on Saturdays was a stall just outside the mall that always had stacks of provocative information. The things I saw there made me mad.
I don’t know how much of an impact the pro-animal rights movement has had in current times but I am still anti-testing on animals for anything cosmetic. Surely by now, we don’t need to test further for things like shampoo. When it comes to cures for life-threatening diseases and viruses though I am in reluctant support.
I started eating fish and some seafood again in 1998 though not all that often back then and I have been a pescatarian since – 41 years in total so far.
In the 80s it was still seen as radical to be vegetarian and I could list off plenty of reasons to become one, especially as I was asked why anytime it came up. It made me mad that I would have to justify it. These days not many people are surprised at anyone being vegetarian and if anyone does ask me why I just say ‘all the reasons.’
The phrase Save The Whale was a popular slogan inspired by the Japanese slaughter of whales for ‘science’ as they liked people to believe but when I hear the term now all I can think about is the titular Cheech and Chong song, “Save the whale, yeah save the whale, ooooo save the whale, but kill the seals!” Damn, I haven’t seen a Cheech and Chong movie in a long time!

*The Week That Was – 19th March 1984

Record of the week: Flux of Pink Indians – The Fucking Cunts Treat Us Like Pricks

19th March 1984
Decided I didn’t fancy going to school. So stayed home. Had kip. Poked around with moped. Wrote letter to Zoe – to send tomorrow with Bloodstains etc. Now I’m waiting for something decent to happen. Saw Julie on the bus. Mum wouldn’t let me out. So started writing a sort of book called ‘Collected Notes of an Imbecile’ including anything and everything.

20th March 1984
Might as well go to school. R.E. – did nothing. Boring YTS film. Maths – shit. Biz – ok. Lunch – can’t remember. P.E. – played football – good laugh. Went over to Rupert’s – gave Burd a lift. Did some taping. Went down club. Had a game of pool. Saw Amanda. Came back. Watched a decent film – Red Sun – Charles Bronson. Went to sleep.

21st March 1984
H.E. – wrote four songs for PCH. Physics – more PCH and peeing about. Lunch – played football. R.E. – nothing. English – ok. Biz – ok. Maths – shit. Bus – had a laugh with Beki. Came home. Got bored. Went out on ‘ped. Saw Jasp, Burt, Scott. Came back. Found out Zoe had rung. She’s coming down to Bournemouth April 7th. Rung her. She was out so she’ll have to ring me back. Typed up PCH. Packed letter to Zoe. Minder is pretty good. Got to prepare H.E. now. Did so.

22nd March 1984
Got seen smoking by Houldey. Art – Hough wasn’t here so did fuck all. P.E. – had an ace game of football. Jane still wants to go out with me. Is that good or bad? Social Studies – ok, didn’t do much. Nick and Chesh got caught smoking – which was quite funny. Went to H.E. to do preparation for exam. Finished early and went for a fag with Nick and Stece. Got Annabel to go out with Burt for a laugh. Went down to Gaunts, ran into a tree while setting (illegible). Saw two people doing strange things in their car. Came back. Watched something. Went to sleep.

23rd March 1984
Bought in rest of H.E. Assembly – boring. Did H.E. exam, everything went ok. Nick’s didn’t go too well. Went for a fag beginning of lesson 4. Langridge could smell it when I went into Maths and I think he might check-up. Lunch – checked exam dates. H.E. – went to tidy things up. Went for another fag lesson 6. Went on to Art. Did nothing as Hough wasn’t here again. Biz – ok. Physics – Hayward was in a good mood and was taking the piss out of us for a change. Liz is going to France for two weeks. Went to chippie. Went up to Houldey’s with Muz and Burt. Had a laugh. Dandy gives me the horn. Got back and had a wank. Watched Cheers. Went to sleep.

24th March 1984
Went to Houlday’s, thought I’d see Dandy but didn’t. Went to match with Mr Playing Howdy (?) – was a good match. We won 4-1. I scored with a head. Fell straight into mud, started pissing it down. Freezing. Came back home. Went to Poole. Bought Flux LP. Put deposit on DK live LP. Met Simon etc. Baldie’s lost his wallet but found it again. Went home on bus. Rich and (?) were on. Flux LP is pretty weird though I’ll probably get used to it. Watched telly rest of the time. Couldn’t stay awake for film though mum watched ice skating til 4.30am.

25th March 1984
Woke up 1 o’clock. Took dog for walk. Watching Milk Cup final Liverpool – Everton 0-0. Zoe rang – she’s not coming on the 7th but for the first week in Easter instead. Not a lot happening. Not feeling very tired so put on 4-Skins LP and did art til 12.20.

*The Week That Was – 20th July 1981

Single of the week: Oi – The EP, Flux of Pink Indians – Neu Smell

20th July 1981
Paul Cook eh!
(Paul Cook born 1956)

21st July 1981
Boring
I think

22nd July 1981
Guts for sale
Tennis
Understand this

23rd July 1981
It’s Friday and I still can’t fuckin’ remember what happened today

24th July 1981
Finish school
Got a pack and swapped it (illegible)
Playing cards all-day
Got me ears pierced

25th July 1981
beat Matthew at tennis
7-8, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

26th July 1981
WHY WHY WHY BUT WHY
DISCHARGE

This week’s chart-topper is: The Specials – Ghost Town