Never underestimate the power of parents’ drinks evenings in a local pub. Absolutely essential for latest gossip (that’s girls’ night out) and making those crucial music connections that may in the future result in some amazing gig experiences. You’ll have to read on to find out what Rob had to offer.

Surely I must be the newest of the newbies on Kevin’s music chum timeline. In fact, to date, it’s just been near misses… “You went to see Julian Cope last year? I did too… didn’t see you there.”

But ultimately it’s the gritted-teeth graciousness I showed in allowing him to take my Neil Young ticket a few weeks back which will last the distance. Reports from my mate, that he met up with there, suggest he was a somewhat excitable puppy throughout, each extended feedback song finale bringing more squeals of delight – his polite verdict to me was “Very electric, very long, tonnes of feedback, exactly what I would want…”. I suspect he enjoyed it more than I would have – which is good enough for me…

So, from one man who avidly taped his favourite tracks off the radio 30 years back, to another man who incredibly (to me anyway) still uses a tape recorder for that very task – Happy Birthday! That’s Altered Images not Stevie Wonder of course…

Rob