Low and behold one day the LP arrived and it was also signed!
I was living in Birmingham 1980/81 and bored one day entered a competition to win Steve’s latest album ‘Cured’ – which BTW is possibly one of the worst album covers of all time (sorry Steve if you’re reading this). I bought a couple of the early albums which showed promise including one of my favourite tracks ‘Everyday’ – brilliant guitar work. 1 November 1980 – Teesside Polytechnic Steve HackettĪs I devoted fan of Genesis (up to and including Wind and Wuthering) I obviously would give Steve a go in his solo career. Might get round to re-introducing myself to them again some day. The trip ended here and I lost interest – but they are still going strong. As far as I was concerned they were a hidden gem of classical influences mixed with prog rock. I saw them again in 1979 and bought a t-shirt this time (Touch Me tour) and then again in Middlesbrough in 1980 – where I managed to get a few shots of the band in action. I was lucky enough to catch one of the drumsticks at the end, which again was kept in a box, in my mum’s loft, until December 2015 when it went the same way as John Otway’s shirt! What a gig – 1976 Derby College of Art and Technology, I promptly went out and bought ‘In the Region of the Summer Stars’. The first gig I ever attended where Robert John Godfrey (founder member) asked the audience to sit on the floor to listen to the music, and we all duly obliged. I saw Otway and Barratt a few times over the years and managed to get a chance to talk face to face with John at Teesside Polytechnic during Rag Week (not sure when it was exactly but it was during the 1980/81 academic year) where he was the star turn! Alas, we didn’t carry cameras around in those days (they were ostensibly for holidays and special occasions) and smartphones were not even a glint in someone’s imagination then. My wife suggested it was a worthless piece of junk and well let’s face it – it was – and alas into the skip it went!
It would invariably be ripped to shreds, (100% polyester) and I managed to come away with a 4”x 3” section ( – Grey Goose pub Nottingham on the infamous DK 50/80 Tour) which was kept in a box, in my mum’s loft, until December 2015. Yes the self-styled ‘Rock and Roll’s Greatest Failure’ frequently used to throw his shirt into the audience (does anyone remember which song?) whilst on tour with Wild Willy Barrett. Probably my first item of worthiness was a piece of John Otway’s shirt (who he? – Ed). Over the years I’ve predominantly by fluke, or from being in the right place at the right time, managed to get myself in a position to be photographed with a number of people who I respect musically (yes they are extremely lucky to have their photo taken with me!!), or to have some signed item, or to pay for some signed item (hey that’s capitalism for you) or to get something thrown into the audience or bumping into them in the street (step forward Rod Stewart in Epping High Street and Steve Hackett in Oxford Street).
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