Happy hogmanay mate

I had actually forgotten about that court case, and you are right, what he and Morrissey the consumer monkey did to the other two was wrong!

I feel like I should back up my johnny marr - man-whore comments. I lost a lot of respect for him after the smiths court case, you remember when it turned out that morrissy/marr paid the other 2 guys 80 quid a week and gave them no royalties

school milk was always rank, i dont drink milk anymore because of it. It always tasted a little odd, maybe our janitor used to wank into it or something

Oh yeah, school milk in England finished about 1972, but I seem to remember that it went on in Scotland for much longer! I had a friend from Irvine who said he was put off milk for the rest of his life because the school janitor used to keep the school milk in the boiler room, and by the time the kids got it, it was all spoilt and curdled.

Captain Scarlett beats both of 'em, but I like Steve Zodiac because essentially, he was in black and white, just like me!

Joe 90 is cooler

Yeah, there is a case for saying Johnny Marr is a musical man-whore, (it is a fun phrase top say full-stop) but anyone who makes a living out of music to a greater or lesser degree is to some extent. Show me a true musical purist and I will show you an anorak who will never emerge from his or her own bedroom. There are degrees of course, and Johnny does reside at the slutty street corner end of the scale. I liked his work with The The after The Smiths. Actually, the image of some hot indy band cruising up and down sunset hoping they will be able to pick up Marr for a few overdubs is an amusing one!

Maggie stole my milk too! I only got it up till primary 3

I thought you would have long been finished school when it stopped. Although in Scotland in may have lasted longer.

I have a photo of me and maggie when I was three. She was only leader of the opposition at the time, but it was when she was campaging for election. I was more excited about getting to sit in a helicopter (she arrived in at and the pilot let me sit in his chair.

Thatcher was indeed our MP, and when she was Heaths education minister she stopped schjool milk. Around that time she visited our school, and my mate Jamie Lillis threw a carton of milk at her!

Finchley? does that mean Maggie was your MP?

Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers came from Finchley, as did I. Spike was involved in 'The Finchley Society', a group who vainly fought to keep local buildings of historical interest from being bulldozed to make way for yet another Tescos. When a local school dating from the early 1800s was due for demolition despite a preservation order, Spike and Sellers came and giftwrapped the building for the local council. It remains there to this day. (I thinK!) One time in the seventies, they drove through Finchley about 2 in the morning in an open top car, Milligan driving dressed as a storm trooper, Sellers dressed as Hitler standing up shouting orders. I always thought I would have liked Milligan if I had known him. In my last years in England I managed sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith, who had played numerous Jazz and Poetry gigs with Spike in the early 60s. What he had to say about him did nothing to alter that opinion.

My dad had spike milligans war memoirs. I loved those. I am a little young for the goon show, but I did listen to tapes of it.

I have one co-authored book out already about sax player Dick Heckstall-Smith, the one in October is a history of the local Barn Theater ( a very niche market but I was hired to do it) and early next year I have one about Peter Green coming out. I am also in the planning stages of one with a working title of 'Life After The Music Industry'

oh and whats your book about?

You are correct, Their bass player drowned in Spain while filming the video to 'Move Any Mountain'

The only thing I can remember about The Shamen before Ebeneezr Goode is that I read an article in the NME a year or two before that about how a member of the band had died in a freak swimming accident? Something like that anyway.

I have to say that my view of Simple Minds is coloured a little by an incident where John Martyn was supporting them at a show and tthe fans booed John throughout his set. Jim Kerr had a chance to say something to the crowd but chose not to. John didn't seem to care, but those of us who love him andn his music just felt very bad about the whole thing. I concede though, forget the 'Sign O the Times' cover, focus on the first few releases and they did do some good stuff

thats ok, even the most perfect of us have imperfections..,., :p

I never claimed to be sane, but I never got Simple Minds I am afraid.