Holidays In The Sun
This strange phenomenon of glorious weather in the UK got me thinking about a holiday I went on in 1994 to Spain, and the music that provided the soundtrack to my first night there.
I was sitting on the balcony of an apartment overlooking a picturesque bay, it was 1am and my friends had gone to bed. However I was not alone. I was in the very pleasant company of a litre bottle of Jack Daniels and a duty free box of gaspers. On my walkman was 'Pills 'N' Thrills And Bellyaches' by Happy Mondays. As the music played, the Mondays' groovesome swagger mixed with the alcohol and started to make me feel very good indeed. Throughout the night the album was played over and over, the level of the whisky in the Jack bottle got lower and lower and I felt more and more rock n' roll. At 7am I had sobered up again and went for a swim in the sea, before starting again later that day.
Anyone else want to share their memories of when music provided the perfect soundtrack on holiday?
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Spring 1994
To a friend's rich relative's cottage in France, Withnail-style, in a van with two seats and three people. We had three tapes: Primal Scream's 'Give Out But Don't Give Up', 'The La's' and Free's 'Fire and Water'. In addition to those being on most of the time, we spent a merry evening playing pool with the locals in a bar with two albums on constant rotation - Prince's 'Symbol'...' Album and 'Pills'n'Thrills..'. Very happy times.
One of our number died later that year and I get very mixed emotions listening to any of the above.
May '84
Sitting in a tent on Shell Island (near Harlech) looking out over the sea after 3 days of torrential rain. Led Zep's "In the Light" on the ghetto blaster - a beam of sunlight pierces the clouds, sweeps across the sea and fills the tent with golden evening light. The rest of the week was glorious...
Sitting around a campfire in Oxfordshire...
...my first ever compilation tape playing out the back of the car. The songs I recall were "Don't Forget to Dance" by the Kinks and "Voices on the Wind", the poignant paean to Lowell on the first post his death Little Feat recording. More innocent times than now. If I knew then......
(Of course, I would)
On an early morning ferry
We got the ferry out of Piraeus heading for the Cyclades at 7 in the morning. It's a beautiful morning, its still cool, we're up on the top deck, the Greek coast on the port side, I've got a walkman playing a compilation tape and Roy Harper's Old Cricketer comes on. For the next seven minutes or so all is well in this, the best of all possible worlds.
And then we had two great weeks on Anti-Paros.
Preverenges, 1978
After an early breakfast of weapons-grade coffee, picking apples from 7 each morning, then a splash of red, some bread and cheese for lunch, and more apples until 6 or 7.
Each evening, a hearty meal with the proprietor and his family. Long lazy evenings sitting out in the garden, looking out over Lake Geneva, smoking Boyards, guzzling Gigondas and listening to Al Stewart's "Year Of The Cat" playing from the lounge.
Corfu 2002, relaxed until...
Waking up in my shared Corfu hotel room with a stinking hangover once again, as per day, once my room-mate and I regained a level of consciousness we'd plonk a cd on (my discman, his speakers). Normally I'd go for something to ease us into the day ahead, but on this particular day I found he had selected The Buzzcocks - Singles Going Steady. LOUD. I was in shock. He simply lay back on his bed.
That one sticks in my mind, anyway. Sheesh.