Around that time I was hanging out in High Street Kensington Market as one was want to do back then, looking at all the 24 pleat "Bowie" trousers and frilly shirts that were 60's originals, not to mention the Chelsea Boots. Oh the Chelsea boots.... kitten heeled Chelsea boots I SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO wanted a pair of those but couldn't afford them. How I wish now I had them - I did eventually end up with a pair of suede flat Chelsea boots but they were never the same as the kitten heeled pair I coveted for so long.
Anyway, there I am hanging out in High Street Ken thinking I was the coolest thing since sliced bread, practicing my dancing steps for the edgy tunes that were synthpop, when some chap came up and asked me if I wanted a free haircut. It turned out he was working for Vidal Sassoon and they were looking for "models" for the students at the hairdressing school.
I jumped at the chance! Off I went to get my hair cut and I ended up with THE coolest ever hair cut I've had in my life. It was short and spikey all over (I love short hair, its so easy to manage ;) ) with this wicked fringe that came down in spikes like stalactites and had to be moulded into place daily with soap. Yep plain ole soap; wet yer hands lather up and then run your lathered hands down the spikes to make them stay in the correct place. The student hairdresser ran out of time unfortunately, or she was fully prepared to colour it too. I was so excited at that thought. I knew I'd be murdered on returning home but I SOOO wanted her to do it. It would have been electric blue and black. The spikes would have been electric blue and the tips of various spikes in my hair would also have been electric blue.
I looked the coolest I'd EVER looked in my life and I loved it so much. So there we were at school me with THE coolest look in the year and our school photos were taken. In my school picture (which I might just scan for the fun of it) I am shown with the haircut and wearing the Yazoo badge. It is one of my favourite pictures of me. The following day mum threw the sweater in the wash with the badge and all, then shoved it in the tumble drier only to melt my badge! Oh how mad I was and how I hated her for it in my teen angst. I had been stabbed in the heart by my own mother who had RUINED my badge! *laugh* When I look back at how angsty and angry I was it makes me laugh so hard. Thankfully Mum can also laugh with me.
Dad of course detested the hair cut. Mum however LOVED it but she kept that secret because she knew if she disagreed with dad their parenting skills would have been affected. They had agreed long ago when bringing up my 5 older brothers that they would never disagree with each other in front of us. It showed strength to us and would stop us from attempting to play them off against each other. If they did disagree they would do it in private.
Anyway finally today, having been going mad all week desperately seeking more Yazoo to listen to, I laid hands on Upstairs At Erics and You & Me Both. Wow what memories listening to these is bringing back.
Crying in my room over the break up for my first ever relationship to "Only You" and playing it over and over and over and over and over again (as I had also done with Heart Of Glass by Blondie my first ever piece of vinyl that was mine not my brothers or the family copy) and driving everyone completely and utterly bonkers with it. I remember my dad threatening to smash the record up if I didn't listen to something else. So then I got given a copy of "Don't Go" remixes on 12" for a birthday from my best friend - wow that one was worn down to nothing the number of times I played it and danced around my room (or rather crashed around my room). Dad was always going spare about my music choices *laugh*
He couldn't understand why I couldn't like a nice band like Abba instead of these freaks with spikey hair and just making *noise* Funny he sortof didn't seem to mind the punk and ska phase I went through before I hit on electronic music with the likes of The Normal, Naked Lunch (never to be heard of again lol), Fad Gadget, Tik and Tok and many many many others who would do all dayers at the Lyceum.
I used to sneak into gigs at The Venue in Victoria to see one of my favourites - Depeche Mode back in the day when Vince was in the band. I used to go to their residency gigs with regularity, plastering myself with make-up and stillettoes to make myself look old enough to get into the evening shows.
A brother once bought a ticket for one of the shows for me, and stupidly he told them I was 14 and they sold him a ticket to the Matinee show! The idiot! I had to make him go change the ticket and tell them it was for his "other" sister who was 19 *laugh*
Oh the memories, the memories =D
OK lets see if I can stick in the Video for "Don't Go!" here:
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