- 3

i remember: northolt.

the most important years of my life were spent in northolt. it was not much of a place, it was not a hive of activity but it was pleasant. it was where i spent my teenaged years.
in northolt i learnt the value of friendship. i also learnt that friendships could be shattered by jealousy. i learnt the value of creativity, ok i abused that creativity by some truly horrid poetry. it was in northolt that i indulged in teenaged angst. in northolt i dreamed the big dreams of youth.
mostly northolt was a place where i was content the biggest worry i had was would i get my homework done.
for various reasons i think i will always consider it to be my home.

at the time i was there northolt itself had little in the way of attractions. a few pubs, a bunch of shops and that was it. but a bus ride (the 140 i believe) would take us into harrow and we could go to two cinemas, the abc or the granada. the granada was where i saw my first x movie (a double bill of the mean machine, starring burt reynolds, and death wish, with charles bronson). the granada was where adam and i saw star wars.
i saw hundreds of films in those cinemas. it was where lifetime passion of going to the cinema started.
most saturdays we would see a film and then we might get a pizza and then walk over harrow hill to get back to northolt. the journey would take us past harrow boys’ school, my dad was always upset he could never send me there. though the connections i might have made there would have meant i was better off than i am now, i have to say i was always glad he could never get it sorted to have me go there.

it was in northolt i was introduced to music. most of my school contemporaries were already fully immersed in music. several of them following punk bands and being avid readers of such music papers as melody maker, sounds and nme. me the last record i had bought was probably an osmonds single.
it was probably adam or andy corsham who showed me the jewel in northolt’s crown: the record shop selanby (adam will correct the spelling, if it is wrong). just as the name sounds it was a new and used record shop.
it was a treasure trove of music. thousands of new and used lps to look through.
it was in these hallowed halls a new obsession was born.
now i could add music to my collecting habit. comics and books had a new rival.

pretty much each week we would make the trip up to selanby to see what we could find. we would look through all the used lps hoping to find a new treat, a new treasure. rarely did we come out of there with nothing in our grubby paws. most of the time the problem was making the choices over which one we could buy.
i remember the yes 12-inch blue vinyl release of going for the one, i remember being told that coloured vinyl was rare. i remember how excited andy corsham was that he had gotten it the day it was released. over the following weeks loads of copies of it would turn up at selanby and we would tease him mercilessly over it.

it was in selanby i discover king crimson, i bought “the young person’s guide to king crimson” i liked the cover, it was a double lp and i had heard someone mention them in conversation. i loved it. have never looked back. same with frank zappa, i liked the cover of “one size fits all”, within a listen i was hooked and the man fz became a staple of my musical life. the same with bands like rainbow, blue oyster cult, rush, cheap trick, genesis, yes and many many more.
here i found live lps, gatefold lps, concept lps, double live concept lps, and they are still the cornerstone of my music taste.
the majority of the vinyl i have was bought from there.
selanby granted me the chance to explore the world of music, and i jumped right in and haven’t looked back since.

it has been a while since i have been back to northolt. to be honest there is nothing there for me now, aside from the memories. i am not sure i will ever go back, but the carefree days of northolt will live on in my memory.

and i have to admit i do miss walking through the green gates. (sorry only adam is going to understand that one…)