Not Fade Away.


I heard Buddy Holly’s version of Not Fade Away in the barbers' this morning, while waiting to for a hair cut. It instantly put me in the mood to listen to more of his work. Such is my long-lasting love for the man and his music.

Buddy’s music has been a recurring theme in my life. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve listened to or played it (not that I was keeping tally). I toured as Buddy in Buddy Holly and The Cricketers for the best – and worst – part of seven years. Most of my actor / musician work gave a nod to it.

While I soon resented life on the road, I never grew tired of the music. I never took it for granted. Buddy was a friend I’d never met. He’d given me comfort through the years. He’d even given me a job.

Me pretending.


The warmth and purity of his voice still touches me. His tragic death still upsets me, even though it happened years before I was born.

Every night, while I waited in the wings for the MC to introduce me, I had a little moment. I’d think of him. I’d thank him. Sometimes we’d play a venue that Buddy had played himself. That was a privilege. The ghosts in the auditorium were with me.

A week today, I get married. True Love Ways will be played at the ceremony. He’ll be with me there too.

Thanks, Charles Hardin Holley. Thanks a lot.

Pretending again.

Popular posts from this blog

Shakerpuppetmaker.

Image
Have Parker from Thunderbirds and Noel Gallagher ever been seen in the same room? The resemblance is uncanny. So much so, I think something’s afoot. If my suspicions are correct, I've stumbled across a secret that will blow the music and puppet industry wide apart. In the mid-60s / mid-90s at least. It doesn’t take long to see the signposts. There’s the similarity between the name of Oasis’ first single, Supersonic, and Supermarianation, Gerry Anderson’s puppetry technique. The Gallagher brothers would often wear Parkas . Live Forever was clearly a reference to Captain Scarlet and Standing on the Shoulder of Giants to the size difference between Noel and his bandmates. The more you think about it, the more brazen it gets. It’s fishier than Area 51, Paul is Dead and JFK's assassination put together. The only glitch to the theory is scale . According to Wikipedia, Anderson’s marionettes were 1’10” and Gallagher is 5’8”. How does he maintain an illusion of avera
Read more

Stevenage: A (Tiny) River Runs Through it.

If ever a river was mis-sold, it’s the Roaring Meg in Stevenage. I just walked past it on my way to the retail park that has taken its name. They’re similarly uninspiring. The river is less of a roar and more of a dribble; cystitis sufferers produce greater flow. The retail park is soulless. What was once a thriving enterprise is nearly devoid of atmosphere, save an underlying essence of emptiness and despair. With a Toys R Us. When it was first built I was excited. Back then, the thought of a bowling alley, an ice rink, a Harvester and a Blockbuster Video within a small surface area was enticing. I celebrated many birthdays on site. There was an indoor cricket pitch there for a while where I once had a joint party with a friend. Why someone with an almost pathological fear of sport would agree to such a venture is beyond me, but I did it. Now, there’s very little at the Roaring Meg of note. The river would be a metaphor for the shopping ce
Read more

Hoo-ray and up She Rises.

So much has happened since my last post in March that this blog risks sounding like an itinerary. The main news is that Hitchin Mostly Comedy will return in the summer at a new venue, the Queen Mother Theatre . The road to this decision was convoluted, though enough fell into place en route to leave me optimistic about this new start. The catalyst was a survey I ran via our mailing list a few months back, in which I asked, "If the club returned in the current climate, with tickets still around £15 (and with similar line-ups), would you still attend?"; the response to which, in simple terms, was a resounding yes. Nearly 250 mailing list subscribers responded in a single week, with around a hundred also taking the option to leave some feedback. And only two people were abusive, which counts as a win when you consider they posted their comments online anonymously. Imagine how many more insults we would have received if the comedy club was a woman. Particularly if she was Diane
Read more