Forty-six years ago, in May 1980, I went to see Wishbone Ash at the Bracknell Leisure Centre. I completely failed to look cool by smoking far too much and putting my head in one of the bass speakers. All I got was a headache.
Half a century later, I'm back in Bracknell, this time on the other side of the speakers, playing with the GMBE at South Hill Park, one of the few big houses to survive the new town's staggering expansion after WW2.
The price for survival was the house being turned into an arts and entertainment venue, complete with new theatre building (even less pretty than the house itself, and not in the photo). We were playing in the Cellar Bar in the house itself, accessed via steep stairs, subterranean corridors and a fiendishly complicated lift. Lucky, one of the multitude of lanyarders was there to help us.
Despite it being a Wednesday night, and the M3 once again descending into gridlock at teatime, the cosy little bar was full. A far cry from a full house sitting in ranks in Crawley, but much more informal.
There was plenty of opportunity for 'banter' (ghastly word) with an excellent mid-week crowd. Best of all, I didn't get a headache, even when the M3 turned out to be shut - again - and I had to wind my way home via Bisley. It was enough to make man take up smoking again.
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