It was a great idea. For my sixtieth birthday, I would draw up a playlist. One record,at least, from each year of my life so far. My soundscape would encompass the whole history of popular music from rock & roll to whatever that meant in the mid teens of the twenty first century.
Over many weeks I put together a list , starting with “Roll Over Beethoven” by Chuck Berry ( in my mind the true king of rock & roll ) and ending roughly four hours later with “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars , which had kicked the backside of the UK charts in the early part of 2016 and given D.J.s a real crowd pleaser to play.
Four hours later was key to my great idea. The List was not intended to be a reflection , some kind of memorial to good times past. It was a blueprint, to be translated into a living celebration of sound , punctuated by two forty five minute slots to enable a live band to perform.
Bob’s Mobile Disco faithfully translated The List into living stereo and the band turned up at the venue in time to set up , sound check and do whatever else bands have to do to get in the zone.
On the whole , it went down well . Chuck Berry led on to Cliff Richard’s “ Move it “ . Somewhere a little further on we were “ Shakin’ All Over” and on through the sixties , climaxing with Bowie’s “ Life On Mars” before the first set.
After the band we jived through glam rock, punk rock , new wave, ska and disco as people feasted on pizzas , fries and garlic bread.
The band performed a lively second set , perfectly complementing the disco , which afterwards moved into the nineties and beyond. The time now was heading towards ten p.m. and we had the room and the bar for a further two hours.
To be fair , I had anticipated , nay planned for some of the older family and friends to start disappearing around now for various reasons , and so they did.
This would leave the floor open to the younger age groups who may have considered even eighties music to be prehistoric. I really thought, though, that the party would catch it’s second wind, and once we got past Happy Mondays and Oasis , Katy Perry’s “ Firework” would have the youngsters shouting for more.
By 10.45 pm , the room was empty except for my wife and me , and Bob’s Mobile Disco in the corner, ready to segue into the new Millennium.
Loraine and me straightened a few tables and put the last of the pizza debris into black bags
before telling Bob’s Mobile Disco he could call it a night.
He asked me if I was sure about that as he was paid until midnight but I told him that was okay. The other room of the pub had a juke box , so they wouldn’t hear him anyway.
If I had been on the decks , I would have kept on playing even to an empty room ...but that’s just the way I am.
Bob’s Mobile Disco ,didn’t need telling again . He unplugged his laptop , lights and speakers and he was gone
What had gone wrong ? To everyone except me , nothing , I guess.
They had all been invited to a birthday party and they had all enjoyed the experience. For me though , there was something amiss. I had planned an event . The music and other entertainment were integral and , as I thought , meticulously geared to suit everyone at some point in the evening.
It seems, however, that the crowd only perceived the music as background .
Also, perhaps, some of the “ youngsters”, now, sort of, serious adults in their mid thirties , saw even nineties music as part of their giddy youth , and were looking forward to bedtime once we got past ten…
We have a Ruby Wedding coming up and lessons have been learned , as they say.
I still have The List and am poised to use it . Perhaps I will shuffle...Maybe everyone will.
Tony Noon
