Reading the thread about first records got me thinking - my response was :

"This Ole House by Shakin' Stevens.

Not the best, admittedly, but it stoked a huge interest I developed in later life for 50's/60's obscurish doo-wop and rock'n'roll."

I consider this to be a fact as there was something about it that stayed with me, and introduced me subtly to a genre I otherwise wouldn't have given a stuff about.

Similarly, I don't think I would have got my naive teenage head around Public Enemy if I hadn't had the entry level Credit To The Nation to attune my ideas to the very idea of rapping, and Goodbye Mr Mackenzie's Nick Cave lite act (yet still quite nice in it's own right) opened up The Birthday Party for me as something to investigate when they mentioned it once.

Have any 'entry level' bands lead you onto other tracks/genres which perhaps you otherwise wouldn't have cared for ?

It looks like you have finally found what you want for Christmas :

http://www.firebox.com/product/1849?src_t=t20

It even has slow opening doors...

For my younger sisters birthdays when she was in her teens I promised to start her gig-going experience by taking her to any gigs she wanted each year.

As a result, I watched Chesney Hawkes at The Colston Hall in Bristol whose version of Lenny Kravitz's Mama Said had to be heard to be believed. Still, I am still chuffed that it was me who started the chant of 'Chesney, Chesney' to get him back on for the obvious encore of The One and Only. Truth be told, I didn't mind that one in reality - the smiley cheese factor kept me going.

Nope, the gig I Really Shouldn't Have Attended came the following year when I was asked to haul her off to experience Wet Wet bloody Wet at the Birmingham NEC.

They played for over 2.5 hours. I nearly killed myself. The promise was rescinded.

Any gigs you really shouldn't have been at ?

http://www.iamnotthebeatles.com

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Whilst other people still debate just how good Age Of Chance actually were :

http://www.iamnotthebeatles.com/?p=172

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Don't forget to click on 'Welcome' and 'The Rules' if this is your first visit - or very little may make sense.

All the best,

Ian TB

Hello,

Want to know what 8 pence used to buy you ? Well, the latest update to I Am Not The Beatles is Boys Wonder, with their 1987 single 'Now What Earthman'

http://www.iamnotthebeatles.com

If you haven't visited before, you will probably need to read the 'Welcome' link on the right of the page, and then also click on 'The Rules' link below it - or it may not make a huge amount of sense...

"This is a beezer of a blog site. The guy who writes it has a bone-dry sense of humour and a decent grasp of the ridiculousness in pop… He does reviews without knowing anything about them, then digs up a few facts later. His account of a journey to Lapland, during which he was terrorised by the same loop of five Christmas songs at every stage, is worth the price of entry alone. And if you want to hear the full horror of what's described, he's uploaded each song." Craig Brown. The Scotsman

Incidentally, Craig was going on about Gay Gordon and The Mince Pies: http://iamnotthebeatles.com/?page_id=13

Loving the new look website, and always enjoy your magazine.

All the best,

Ian TB