The year was 1986; I was nine years old and sat
in my parent’s living room. Up until this point I hadn’t paid my attention to
music, in fact the previous year I (to my eternal shame) had destroyed several
of my fathers prized records playing Frisbee with them*. However, this
Thursday night would change everything…
Pre MTV the BBC had a show called Top of the Pops, it ran every Thursday night
and was presented by a string of Radio one DJ’s in front of a live audience. It
was a mix of live performances and pre recorded, for many years was the
source of Music Videos. For some reason that night I decided to watch it,
perhaps I wondered what the fuss was about, I’ve no idea, the reason is lost in
time, but I was in the right place at the right time to hearing a song
that blew my tiny mind; Living on a Prayer** and thus began a lifelong obsession
with Bon Jovi.
I think as a child of the 80’s it was inevitable that Rock music would dominate
my taste as a teenager, Bon Jovi were (and still are) my favourite band but
others soon came along, Whitesnake, Rainbow, Thunder and Queen to name
but a few. Growing up in a working class family I think that brand of music
really connected with me on a subconscious level, I was the target audience and
I lapped up every single power chord. Of course since then I have expanded my
music taste considerably, I know there is better music out there, and I have
heard it, so why does Bon Jovi still have my allegiance?
I think its because I’m and optimist, ultimately no matter how hard things get
I always believe there is light at the end of the tunnel and When you break it
down their music is pretty much all about that concept. I never
understood the need to wallow in pity, or surround yourself with darkness. Life
is to short, you need to make the most of it and lets be honest no matter how
bad things get there is always someone who has it worse than you (to use a
terrible cliché).
So in closing if music is a reflection of who you are I’m happy to be judged on
my love of Bon Jovi, after all, Tommy and Gina never backed down did they?
* When I started earing my own money I made sure to track them down and replace each one.
** Living on a Prayer was beaten to number one by The Final Countdown, so that was a good week for poodle rock.