Edwyn Collins - 'A Girl Like You'

Edwyn Collins - 'A Girl Like You'

Edwyn Collins Eurostar Adventures Flycasual Recollection Collection

Recollection Collection......musical memories recalled with affection!

Edwyn Collins - 'A Girl Like You' (1995)

Edwyn Collins has a lot to answer for!

In the mid nineties I used to work as a pumped up cabin crew aboard the then prestigious environs of Eurostar (more Eurostar adventures here). Back when everybody was giddy with excitement about going through a tunnel for 20 minutes.

And as you can see, I had an equally dazzling uniform! Phwoaaarr!

I would work with the same crew for a period and would obviously get to know them fairly well, unfortunately some tried more than others as my purser took a real shine to me. She would always try and find moments alone with me whilst on the train and ask about my love life.....over zealous trolley checks, over enthusiastic help with cash floats, helping me grill the Croque-Monsieur, yep, she'd be there.

When I'd mention this to friends, they'd often be like, "what's the problem? Get in there, she's a superior officer!". The problem was that she had a chin Jimmy Hill would have been proud of and I had a girlfriend I was particularly fond of. What's more, she kept calling me "my baby" and being twice my age, it just added to my discomfort as I was fairly content having a mother already.

Jimmy Hill, King Chin!

Things came to a head when my crew had a night-stop in Paris. On arrival, I had some downtime and I would take the opportunity to listen to some music on my Walkman (a portable tape, that's TAPE player) while waiting for the crew to finish up what they were doing. I was just about to relax with my latest monthly mix when 'psycho purser' sat far too close to me and asked if she could listen in.

"Uh, yeah ok." I mumbled

The first track happened to be the Edwyn Collin's classic, 'A Girl Like You'. Halfway through the song she blurted out, "You've done this on purpose, this song is about me, isn't it?"

"Hmmm, no really it isn't!" I replied, mild panic settling in.

"I must borrow this tape!" she retorted, I reluctantly handed it over.

The crew reconvened for dinner at a cheap and cheerful station restaurant later that evening and the cabin crew equivalent of Kathy Bates in Misery was clearly overdressed for the occasion. Amusingly she wore her hair not too dissimilar to Princess Leia from Star Wars and I made the mistake of telling her exactly that.

"Ooh, listen everyone, Brian just called me a Princess!" She cooed.

"No, no really I didn't, I just....", I tried vainly to explain.

But it couldn't have been further from the truth, she was more suited as a villain in Jabba the Hutt's court than in the arms of the dashing Han Solo.

Jabba the Hutt's court, there she's is, third from the left!

After dinner, I tried to make a quick getaway only for her to corner me in the lift alone. She tried to convince me to come for a 'night cap', even asking me if I would leave my girlfriend for her. Things had gone waaaaay out of hand now but it wasn't me who eventually complained, it was the rest of my crew who had noticed her behaviour. I was bemused by the whole episode, sometimes annoying but I never felt threatened. Of course I am aware of how serious a harassment case can be but I always thought I could handle it. I was asked by my management if I wanted to take it further, which I didn't and instead she was reprimanded and duly removed from my line.

I can't even remember her name or what happened to her afterwards as a result but ultimately I wasn't bothered, I was more pissed off that I didn't get my tape back.

Nothing like the girl in question!

Despite all that, the Northern Soul inspired, 'A Girl Like You' is a firm favourite of mine. It's coming up to the 20th anniversary of that song which the BBC's 'One Show' kindly reminded me, jolting memories of how not to conduct a romantic break in Paris for two. Interestingly (or not) the fuzz/dirty guitar sound was created using a vintage guitar pedal from the 60's.

What I didn't realise was how ill Edwyn Collins has been, suffering a series of strokes and cerebral haemorrhages back in 2005. With any hope of survival all but written off, he managed to recover somewhat and is able to tell the tale. A documentary of his life is being released on Nov 7th entitled, The Possibilities Are Endless. Powerfully inspiring stuff!

Check out some of my other favourite songs and memories here....or listen/subscribe to the Recollection Collection playlist below.

sfw Pada 02:38 5 Komentar

Tori Amos - 'Cornflake Girl'

Tori Amos - 'Cornflake Girl'

Close Encounters Eurostar Adventures Flycasual Recollection Collection Tori Amos

Thursday I'm in Love..a chance to share some of my favourite cereal!

Where's my cornflakes?

Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl (1994)

Ah Tori Amos, nobody believes me but we shared a moment, she and I. I remember hearing the excellent 'Cornflake Girl' at a New Years eve party at Sfw's, standing in the nerve centre (the kitchen) discussing the virtues of her unique and rather saucy piano playing style. It cemented my love for piano, the video is case in point (even dirty rotter Conan O'Brien licks his lips), Phwoar!

Our brief encounter took place back in 95', I was a steward on board Eurostar, delivering service with a smile. I was standing on the platform, meeting and greeting our first class passengers in my Canary Yellow blazer, tiger print bow tie and Village People style hat (no joke). I knew that it was going to be a day like no other as I was confronted by none other than Tori Amos and her entourage of 3 friends on a day trip to Paris. Untapped passion simmered when our eyes briefly locked, as I went to help with her bags, the train whistled and steam covered the platform, we were ready to depart. As expected it was an uneventful trip, that was until I bumped into her at the end of the carriage prior to our arrival and she asked me if I was coming back to London that night. My heart skipped a beat, the piano playing songstress was going to ask me for a drink, I stammered that I was returning on the exact same train. "great" she said "could you look after my magazines? I don't want to haul them around Paris". Gutted but still hopeful that this was a Rock n' Roll euphemism for hooking up with mere mortals (maybe there was her phone number in one of the mags!!....there wasn't). I told her not to worry and obliged to look after an unfeasibly large collection of uninspiring home improvement magazines. On the turn-around in Paris I couldn't go for my usual stroll and pose around the Quartier Latin but instead had to sit/sleep on my prized collection of magazines like some sort mother hen and her eggs. Dreams of a Rock N' Roll romance were all but shattered when my knob of Supervisor said he didn't need me for the return and instead wanted me go on an earlier and busier train. My desperate protests fell on deaf ears when I told him I was looking after a superstar's magazines (albeit illegally). "Tori who? I don't care I want you on that train".

Tori Amos, never got her mags back and I never saw her again. I like to think that there's a song out there she wrote about that handsome but bastard of a steward who took off with a bunch of woman's interest magazines.

Tori??  Bloody hell is that you love?

I've sort of stopped following her after that brief liaison but later, on doing a bit of research for this post, I subsequently found out that she has released a 12th studio album last summer, called Night of the Hunters. I was also surprised that the natural beauty, rather disappointingly decided to go down the route of plastic surgery but despite this, it won't stop me giving the new album a listen, it may rekindle that magic we once had!



Click here to see the video for 'Carry', taken from the album. Official site here too, some interesting photos!

Where did that rabbit put them keys? Click here for more of my favourite tunes..they're rad!

sfw Pada 22:00 15 Komentar

Earthling - 'Infinite M'

Earthling - 'Infinite M'

Earthling Eurostar Adventures Flycasual Hip Hop Classics Recollection Collection YO! TuneDr Raps

Recollection Collection......musical memories recalled with affection!

Earthling - Infinite-M (1995)

Sometimes going to Disneyland isn't the fairytale it's all cracked up to be. That is of course, if you are working the trolley onboard Eurostar. I used to work as cabin crew back in the mid 90's and though it was largely enjoyable, trolley detail was most certainly the short straw, especially the journey to Eurodisney. One moment it's working the premium cabin to Paris, serving canapés and 1988 Chateau Lafite to Tori Amos (yes I met her, read about it here) the next it's five carriages of trolley carnage, selling Kit Kats and Um Bongo to groups of school kids vomiting with excitement.

Earthling...looks like it's his 5th trolley detail in a row!

One such memorable journey to Eurodisney saw me tasked with this unenviable duty. The train was full of school trips, I had more than my fair share of trolley duties that month and of course one of the wheels refused to co-operate. That meant when the train was taking bends at 300kph around the French countryside, lugging the trolley at what felt like negative G's, it was tantamount to wrestling a Sherman Tank. I wasn't in the mood. My misery was compounded by the fact that I was working with an overly zealous, overly camp purser whom I affectionately called 'French Terry' (his name was Thierry), who I had previously fallen out with. Service protocol required me to be in a certain carriage at a certain time during the trip to avoid a potential refreshment riot at the buffet car. Due to difficult circumstances, I had failed to meet this requirement much to the visible disappointment of French Terry who came to check on me, branding me, "the slowest trolley dolly he has ever known".

With a sudden and uncharacteristic act of insubordination I shouted, "You scumbag!"

"Get out!" He screamed.

"But we're not at a station." I replied.

"Just get off my train!!" French Terry, getting visibly redder, barked.

"It's not your train though." I retorted, adding more fuel to the fire.

"You're stood down!" and with that he disappeared back down the train.

Those dreaded words meant I was officially relieved of my duties, a bit like a cop handing in his badge and his gun except in this case it was the trolley key and the takings. I was well and truly busted.

On arrival at Eurodisney, French Terry told me to make my own way back to Paris to catch a Eurostar home to London. So, declining a hug from Tigger and friends who were greeting the hordes of children on the platform, I made my way back with my tail between my legs. As it turns out I got a slap on the wrist and told not to call my superiors scumbags and French Terry got reprimanded for lack of due care for leaving a staff member behind enemy lines. Yes!

I see this picture, I start to have a Vietnam style flashback.....eh? Oi! Put that back!

It's amazing how, on hearing a song, it takes you back to an event in your life where you pretty much recall everything. Like Earthling's debut album 'Radar', particularly my favourite track 'Infinite M', will always be synonymous with the above events. As on the journey home from Eurosdisney, this was the album I was listening to on my Discman, soothing me like a 'there there' pat on the back.

Earthling are a Hip Hop act hailing from Bristol (there's a surprise!) and released their debut in 1995. Portishead's Geoff Barrow was also involved in the album providing some unmistakable 'Trip Hop' nuances. I loved it, it was highly original, innovative and brilliantly bizarre, an underrated classic as far as I'm concerned, making up a chunk of the UK's Hip Hop and dance scene's musical DNA. In 2011 they finally released a third album called 'Insomniac's Ball'.

Have a look at what Earthling are doing on their website.

More adventures on Eurostar......

Have a listen to some of my favourite tracks on my Spotify playlist below or click here to read some more posts.

sfw Pada 22:00 9 Komentar

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Smashing Pumpkins - '1979'

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Smashing Pumpkins - '1979'

Eurostar Adventures Flycasual Recollection Collection Smashing Pumpkins

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE!! A CHANCE FOR ME TO SHARE SOME OF MY AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA!!

Smashing Pumpkins - '1979' (1996)

This track pretty much trumped everything else that was released that summer. I was never really a big fan of the Smashing Pumpkins but for me this ticked all my boxes from it's build up to when the beat kicks in, the bassline and that voice sample. It was also a great video, the skull in the car moving in time to the beat, the care free nature of the song summing up perfectly how I felt that summer.

Smashing Pumpkins....waiting patiently for some Pappardelle Arabiata!

It reminds me of my friends I made when I worked on Eurostar. It was a small group of probably about 10 and we worked with each other pretty much for about a year together so we were close knit. Piling late into a pub near Waterloo after work, we'd hog the pool table and jukebox where this song was played on repeat. After last orders we'd probably go to a friends house, hopefully to my Italian buddy who'd whip up some delicious Sicilian dish out of nowhere, molto bene!! Happy memories, courtesy of the Smashing Pumpkins!

Check out the Smashing Pumpkins official site

More of my favourite tracks....indulge yourself....
or have a listen to my Spotify playlist...

sfw Pada 22:00 4 Komentar

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Luna - '23 Minutes in Brussels'

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Luna - '23 Minutes in Brussels'

Eurostar Adventures Flycasual Luna Recollection Collection

Thursday I'm in love...a chance for me to 'waffle' on about some of my favourite songs.

 

Luna - '23 Minutes in Brussels' (1995)

In the mid 90's I used to work on Eurostar as a pumped up steward often stopping for several hours in Paris or if you were unlucky, Brussels. I don't know why I had so much animosity towards a city that was impossibly greyer and wetter than London, perhaps it was the fact that for the duration of the turnaround we were stuck in a dingy room near the Midi station, an area which was also a constant building site. Or maybe it was the yellow blazer and blue and yellow tiger stripped bow tie combo I had to wear for a uniform. It could even be the time I went to see Scotland play Belgium in a World Cup qualifier and almost winning the match by losing 2-0, my misery compounded by the Tartan Army regulars deciding to sing the horrific version of 'Hey Baby' for the rest of the evening.

Yeah! We're playing in Brussels!

At the time there was this mesmerising song called '23 Minutes in Brussels' by New York band Luna, the track becoming one of my all time favourites. It's got this fantastic psychedelic groove to it that just takes you away, great percussion throughout and an excellent instrumental section in the middle, not to mention some pretty poignant lyrics, like trying to catch an aeroplane home, completely capturing my mood. More importantly 23 minutes was probably about the optimum time you'd want to spend there.

I have since made my peace with Brussels/Belgium, realising I was just being a petulant little brat. I mean how can I possibly be mad about a country that has given us Hoegaarden, Tintin, Deus, chips and of course Jean Claude Van Damme!

Flycasual, my name is Jean Claude Van Damme and I'm very very angry!

Download the MP3 from this Luna fansite...located in the Luna file third mp3 down on the left

sfw Pada 01:11 6 Komentar