As I am a little bit shy about telling Facebook what my preferences are these days, I thought I’d write about my early musical inspirations and pop it on my blog, which I have haven’t updated for many years even though I’m in Asia at the moment which should give me something worth writing about!

So today is the start of the Songkran Festival, I’m on a journey with an old friend who has a boat, am getting to know some of the expats living out here, but right now I have been kindly asked to write about some music that has inspired me, so here goes…

I was lucky enough to inherit a couple of small record players when I was a wee laddie, plus many of my mother’s records that contained things such as The Dutch Swing College and Bix Beiderbecke. I therefore decided that an eclectic taste in music was in order and bought my first album which was The Planets by Gustav Holst.

Things weren’t all highbrow though, I asked for The Beatles Red Album as a Christmas present and my first single was Tiger Feat by Mud.

This early musical collection seeped into my bones, I attempted to pat out the jazz rythms I heard with my hands, was intrigued by the Beatles and boogied along to tiger feet.

Then it was off on journey, so I’ll pop down the bits of music. albums or singles, that moved me most. Some were simply amazing gigs such as Krishnamurti Sridhar playing sarod in the early hours at Glastonbury festival in 1987, or The Levellers at Beautiful days festival which was one of the best gigs I have been to.

The Lark Ascending, Ralph Vaughan Williams.
To Survive, Joan as Policewoman.
Led Zeppelin III.
David Sylvian, Secrets of the Beehive
Charles Mingus, Blues and Roots
King Crimson, Islands, or Beat, they kind of go together.
Adrian Belew, Twang Bar King
Krishnamurti Sridhar, Raga Darbari
Paco de Lucía, Concierto de Aranjuez
Lord Kitchener, Murial and the Bug

Brazilian Samba, Argentinians sitting around campfires singing, they all know the songs and love getting together, dancing or singing, Susana Baca, Irish people getting together in a pub, music and people.

There were many other musical alleys I explored, the energy of The Prodigy or Hawkwind, bonkers Gong playing at Glastonbury showed me that there was more to music than just music, Talking Heads remain in Light, Radiohead The Bends, Brian Eno Apollo, but I don’t play many of these old albums now, I prefer writing my own music and tend to pick up an instrument rather than put on a record.

Playing with other people is the best thing when it works well, as I get older I play better with others!