I think 16 was my teddy boy era. I only dabbled in it. But it was about getting the right haircut and figuring how to keep your hair upright for hours. But it was really a quest for young ladies and charming them. I chased them a bit – I was fascinated, like everybody else my age. And there was a weird dodge I was doing between soccer and rugby. I was so focused on music that I wanted to avoid injuries and not lose too many teeth. So I went for football because it was less dangerous. And it worked.
My uncles were all plugged into a musical parameter that really meant a lot to me. One of my uncles was a composer, some of them were coalminers. My father was a coalminer. Variety is the spice of life. And I really liked all the varieties of music that were around. The local cinema in Garnant with Bill Haley. So all the kids in the area were full of it, jumping up on the stage, dancing. It was frowned on, but it was great.
