MONDAY
Met Hank in town for a few beers. Said he'd been told to cut down on peanuts by the doctor because of his acne. Chocolate, he said, was another danger, but no way was he giving up Star Bar.
TUESDAY
Checked out some local bands at The Essex: all crap. To make up for a bad night I tried to score some blow, but soon found out the only joy I was likely to get was from D_____, who had already left.
SUNDAY
Went round Scottie's to make sure he didn't slit his wrists or do anything stupid after being dumped by his girlfriend. Needn't have bothered. Turned out he'd been losing interest any case.
TUESDAY
Hung out in Parrot Records for a couple of hours chatting to Nigel, listening to some new singles. Best offering of the week was Rip off Yourself by a spineless looking group called The Cons. Great chorus:
You fuck up your mind
You fuck up your health
You're so fucked up
You fuck up yourself!
FRIDAY
Went to see The Murk at The 100 Club. Seriously underrated band. Must remember to get their new double A side The Axe/Dents.
MONDAY
Bumped into Scottie's ex in the High Street, barely recognized her with her new peroxide Mohican. She asked me how Scottie was getting on and I lied, said he was still pining after her. We had a cup of tea in The Shanty and talked about old times. Told me she'd got a job with a ferry company, starting at the end of the month.
WEDNESDAY
Auditioned for local outfit Pheromones: crap. I didn't want them and they didn't want me, so I packed up my bass and walked home.
SATURDAY
Got off with O_____ after a local punk gig. Lick my decals, she said, so I did. Later, before crashing, we smoked a few spliffs. Left a bitter taste in my mouth as the hot pot smoke hit the decals on my tongue.
THURSDAY
Met Hank in town for a few beers. Told me about local five-piece The Lepers breaking down on their way to a gig in Amsterdam. Apparently the transit they'd hired had a blowout and the spare tyre was punctured as well, so they missed the gig and any chance of making their mark on Europe. When they got back they'd given the manager at Hertz an earful.
TUESDAY
Spent the weekend at Henge: heavy festival. Mainly bikers and metal heads so bit out of it. Hank took three black stars and had a bad trip. Fell into a river, and when he emerged, caked in mud, announced in visionary tones: Hell viscous, tell O_____.
FRIDAY
Went round O_____'s for a chat and a smoke. Was just starting to feel horny when she farted, filling the room with the smell of old eggs.
MONDAY
Another audition for local band: usual crap. This lot, Automatic Hamsters, had a really awful song about Crufts, with the chorus:
It's a machine where pets are done
It's legal canine desecra-tion!
WEDNESDAY
Bumped into Scottie in town and went for a tea in The Shanty. Told him about his ex going to sea but he didn't seem that interested. Nearly ripped off by a couple of kids rummaging through our gear but Scottie spotted them just in time, told them to keep their hands in their ain coats.
SATURDAY
Went to see The Murk at The Lyceum. Great gig. Couple of tall skins had me worried on the way home though. They were more or less blocking the pavement but I knew if I turned and ran they'd have me, so I just kept on walking, so as not to put any ideas in their heads. As luck would have it they weren't in an aggressive mood, and let me pass, without a word.
MONDAY
Went into Parrot Records to check out the discs. Nigel played me the latest sounds, including an EP on vomit coloured vinyl by Repulsive Strings, and a dire song about a blind girl regaining her sight, "She'll See!" by a Dutch outfit.
TUESDAY
Bumped into Hamsters' singer Mitch in town. He's a nice bloke, even if he can't sing and writes crap lyrics. Went to sniff some glue in the multi-story till chased out by an attendant, shouting madly, pointing at us.
THURSDAY
Met Hank in town for a few beers. Talked about celebrity spotting. I told him I'd seen Joe Strummer in the King's Road, which was a lie. He told me he'd seen Keith Levine in Texas Homecare.
MONDAY
Spent weekend at Reading. Got really out of it and missed most of the bands except Motorhead, who were crap. Punks and rockers at each other's throats. Hank had a bad trip on a red microdot and thought he was in Japan. He wouldn't snap out of it and for hours he just sat huddled in the corner of the tent, rabbiting on about something to do with Japanese currency.
THURSDAY
Went round O_____'s for a chat. Got a bit stoned and played I Spy. Totally confused when O_____ spies something beginning with "N" or "G". It had to be one or the other, I said, which made her cross, so I thought it best to go. I still don't know what she had in mind, but if she was thinking of "Gnome" it's definitely got a "G", I've checked.
SATURDAY
Went to see The Murk at Dingwall's. Great as always. They encored with their new song about youth culture, "These Kids", which is fast becoming an anthem for a new generation.
TUESDAY
Went to a local gig at The Essex: Pheromones plus support. Plus support turned out to be The Tools and Automatic Hamsters. Place was packed out largely because of new act Tools with Nigel from Parrot on bass. Crap in my opinion but the Essex manager loved them, paid them £50 and asked them back.
WEDNESDAY
Met Hank in town for a few beers. Apparently The Lepers had broken down again, this time on the way to Manchester. Again, Hertz were to blame.
FRIDAY
O_____'s birthday. Went round to see her with Hank, Scottie, Nigel and others. We played discs late into the night and got more and more wasted. We all did a mad dance to The Fall and collapsed in a heap on the floor.
