h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Camping...

In July 1976, three of us went camping in the Lake District near Kendal. While the rest of the country was enjoying the hottest and sunniest summer for years, in p!ssed down for two weeks solid in Cumbria and we got to do hardly any of the things we had planned

One of the friends I went with took two cassettes with him and he played one song from each over and over again - Peter Frampton's Show Me the Way, and The Boys Are Back in Town by Thin Lizzy. I can't hear either of those songs without thinking of sitting in a soggy tent in the middle of a muddy field at the foot of Hellvellyn wishing that the bloody rain would stop

I remember sitting absolutely stunned by The Beatles sing - I'll follow the sun.

15 years of age, lying about my age to get into the cinema, and then being blown away - Born To Be WIIIIIIIlllld. Easy Rider.

18 or 19 Sitting in a friends room at Warwick University with Dark Side of The Mooon gatefold open rolling joints - the eternal album.

20-21 Endless parties and no matter what party it was the music was C'mon Eileen.

Same year (I think) A mate got Lindisfarne Fog on The Tyne and a cassette machine for Christmas, and 3 of us sat in his parents front room playing it over and over again (it was the only cassette he had) and getting drunk.

23 Bob Dylan's Desire - I was going out with a girl called Sarah, some Rod Stewart song - I didn't know what day it was when you walked into the room.... We'd argue whther the next line was - "I said hello unnoticed, or I said hello AND noticed"

25 - lying in my house, alone, broken-hearted, playing Billy Joel - always a woman to me, and 10cc I'm not in love - can't hear either of those without thinking of Charlie.

29 - First dance with the future Mrs D - Dancing Tight by Tight Fit (I think) Though for Mrs D the song is 'The First Time ever I saw your face..'

There's others flit through - Speed King - Deep Purple when we saw them at the Coventry Theatre - Meatloaf, Bat out of Hell.

I'd better shut up - there's hundred's off them, you'll need an IPOD for my lot.

One last weird one - going on holiday - driving down to Brixham - 22:20 stop at a pub for a pint before the pubs shut - playing live at the pub are ......... Adge Cutler and The Wurzels - Blackbird I'll 'ave ee. Staggerin gout the pub about 2:00 AM and realising I was supposed to be driving down strange roads to and then putting a tent up.

Adge Cutler and the Wurzels

I remembered something that seemed quite salient a couple of hours ago, but in between now and posting here I seem to have forgotten it

Oh yeah, that was it - or maybe it wasn't, but anyway... the soundtrack to right now! 'Crystal' by New Order - it was one of the highlights of Glastonbury, and it's been in my head over the last few days when I've had my two lots of good news about Radio London asking me back for a second season.