Wash Away My Sorrow

Today's P&L: GBP Nothing, its the weekend

Today's Booze: One bottle of Tinto Pesquera 1994

Today's Soundtrack: Luther Vandross

I am still reflective about my parents - didn't think I would miss them half as much as I do. Once again my father was the focus of my attention. This must kill my mother, she has three sons and, as a result of his job, (he would be away roughly nine months of every year), she was often alone and the sole disciplinarian. Added to that my fathers general coolness, it is no wonder he was treated like a rock star by us. I don't have many memories prior to a brain injury caused by my older brother, but I was told by so many people of a time when I was around three when my father had been charged with looking after us during one of his breaks as my mother went shopping. As she drove back into the small drive we lived in, she couldn't help noticing that it seemed awfully quiet for a hot summers day. When she went into the house she said to my father "where are all the children", (back then almost everyone had children so even though there was only thirty or so houses there were plenty of kids around). My father said "Oh they are in the back garden", this wasn't good enough for my mother who went to investigate further. Turns out my dad had got bored with the constant hassle from the children and gone for a smoke and a read - to keep us all distracted he had emptied our goldfish tank into the paddling pool and provided us with bamboo fishing rods with clothes pins as hooks. Apparently every child in the local area was in our back garden trying to catch these poor fish.

The old man used to be stunned about my readiness to take risk, I remember my younger brother, (Mr.Perfect and the apple of my parents eye), telling them where I was when I ended up in Indonesia and my father saying "that can't be right, back in the sixties we would chop through the mooring ropes at night and float in the harbour to provide some protection".

I think my parents were destined to be together, they were actually born within walking distance of each other in Glasgow, but ended up meeting each other in Japan. They have both had extra-ordinary lives and to a certain extent I feel obliged to try and exceed them. They did everything to ensure their children wouldn't have to grow up like did. I remember asking them once, "Have you ever read No Mean City"? and my mother said, "we didn't have to read it son - we lived it". OK the dates are slightly wrong but my dad was born in Govan in nineteen thirty nine, in fact the writer of No Mean City died outside the library across the road from the gym my dad used to box in, (Ibrox - not the gorbals for anyone who is interested).

I wonder if my father ever saw the irony in his boxing for money and then paying a fortune for me to go to a school where I boxed. My parents are both so smart, I have seen my mother hold conversations in three different languages at the same time, but more than that they have a fighting spirit that I can never emulate. My mother or father would never give up on life as easily as I did - That is the biggest difference between us.

Today I was listening to Luther. Of all the big soul singers he is one of my least favourite. I don't know why but I am not alone in this, despite his pitch perfect voice and slick delivery, he will never be held in the same light as Marvin Gaye, Al Green or Otis. The top five songs I listened to:

Dance With My Father - Based on the rest of this post it is a little redundant to explain why I love this song.

Give Me The Reason - One of his biggest hits, with the slick production I love in eighties music. The song is relatively simple, everyone must have had this feeling about a lover who realised she made the wrong choice but it is a showcase for Luther and his vocal gymnastics. Anyone who watches Britain/America has got talent and is impressed by a singer should listen to this.

Superstar - Another song that shows off his voice but lacks any real passion. Maybe that's why Luther spent most of his career as a back-up singer. I never sense the passion from him that I get from listening to Marvin.

So Amazing - This song is like eating a bag of sugar, I would love to see Lemmy from Motorhead do a cover version. I like the sentiment though. I have always been lucky in love despite my terrible personality traits. When I was younger I put it down to the way I look but I am getting on a bit now and still attract no shortage of admirers.

I really Didn't Mean It - A song that takes me back to pub/clubs in the late eighties. Who doesn't like this kind of music? OK it doesn't have any message - this isn't Stevie Wonder or Bobby Womack we are talking about, it is make-out music.


In case I don't see 'ya...good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!