Jocknroll - Memories

Memories

STEPHEN FORDE

Average White Band's "AWB": "As my Uncle Felix said when he found out they were Scottish and White;"...what really...you joking...f**k me!...pardon my language...but thats funny...s**t!""

STEVE COATES, Glasgow

Leslie McKeown's "All Washed Up": "As for my worst album then this is a belter. I picked it up in a vinyl clearance for about 10p. Yes it's the ex Bay City Roller front-man, I loved the Sci-Fi Album cover but the record is pure SHITE! I still have it if proof of existence if required."

JOHN WALL, Edinburgh (via Yorkshire)

The Waterboys' "Fisherman's Blues": "An album of drinking songs. Perfect for self indulgent students and trying to appease their moody girlfriends. Or at least that's my memory of it. Made folk music seem almost normal."

EDITH HALL, Rotterdam

The Bluebells' "Sisters": "My sister and I once went to Kelvingrove Art Galleries to have our photo taken next to Mary Cassatts Sisters painting, just because it was also a sleeve of Cath, one of the songs on this album and because we just couldn't resist this opportunity being true sisters ourselves. Because of this album my sister and I became friends with someone who has been our friend ever since and who also feels like a sister."

JAMES HACKETT of The Orchids

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' "Rattlesnakes": "Sang it out loud as I showered for every party I crashed as a teenager."

NEIL JAMIESON

His Latest Flame's "In The Neighbourhood": "Words can't honestly describe this travesty. Not necessarily the day the music died, but it moved a hell of a lot closer when this came out."

ALASDAIR MacNEILL

Sidney Devine's "Line Dancing Party": "It was a present from my Granny. On instruction from my mother I had to ingratiate myself to keep her happy, this included "liking" her entire Sydney Devine and Tommy Scott collection. So she went and bought me the frikkin' line dancing one for my Christmas!!!

It went to an old folks' home shortly afterwards."

ALLAN KERR

The Waterboys' "This Is The Sea": "The album that contained their biggest hit to date also included some classic tracks that always remind me of the 80s - Be My Enemy, The Pan Within, Don't Bang the Drum but the biggest shock I got was when Be My Enemy was used in Miami Vice!!! - the ultimate 80s accolade/kiss of death (dependant on who you were)."

CRAIG MORGAN, Newcastle

Trashcan Sinatras "Cake": "Great album and great tee-shirt, which had CAKE written in mirror image on it. Always got lots of comments. I also had a Trash Can's Tee Shirt with 'I Hate Music' written across the front, which again got a load of comments especially when I bumped into an elderly American guy who was running the Highland Resturant in Tyndrum who just happend to be called Mr Music."

KENNY MacCOLL, New York

"Sparkle In The Rain" by Simple Minds: "Probably not the worst album overall but the memory of intense disappointment is strongest with this album, signaling the start of their descent into pompous hell."

DAVID McGUIRE, Cornwall

"Tigermilk" by Belle and Sebastian: "My mate had an original vinyl copy of this and offered it me for £400. I'd have taken him up on it, too - but when they reissued it a few months later I was glad I'd been too skint. How can you NOT love an album that has "My brother had confessed that he was gay - it took
the heat off me for a while" among its opening lines?"

SHARON O'CONNOR, Edinburgh

Aztec Camera's "Just Like Gold": "This song reminds me of when I first started dating my current boyfriend, back in 1986 when we were 16. We would sit in my bedroom at my mom & dad's house in Manchester, listening to this song in reverence, and dreaming of escaping to the exotic country of Scotland!"

CHRISSIE ALEXANDER, Colchester via Glasgow

Paolo Nutini: "He's my current favourite. What a fantastic voice from a young guy with a name like an ice cream flavour! Cute too–pity I'm not 30 years younger"

NEIL SCOTT, Glasgow

The Associates' Party Fears Two: "Re: The Associates on the BA Robertson Show (Friday Night Saturday Morning) - I remember as a spotty teenager seeing that on the night on a black and white portable in my bedroom. That voice! I was hooked from then. I always remember that performance - MacKenzie in the aviator suit! I rushed (well as much as a norn irish teen rushed in those days) down to the wee local record shop and bought Party Fears Two the next day. My credibility rose no end - not long before I had been buying "Four From Toyah" which was ok in my school, but the bloke in the record shop sort of snorted when I asked for it. When I asked for "Party Fears Two" the normally inanimate hippy bloke broke into a smile and said (in front of my mates 'n all!) "Fuckin' cool!""

DEWAR SPENCE, Anstruther

Astrid's "Play Dead": "I have an 8 year old who sings this word perfect."

STUART MATTHEWS, Canterbury via Orange County, CA

Aztec Camera's "Oblivious": "This song changed my life. Heard it driving down the highway in Southern California in the summer, fell in love -- with a girl, and the song! Everything has been different since I ever heard those first few strums of Oblivious, truly the soundtrack of my life ... best memory, performing this song live with my mate Kenny McCormack in front of about 200 raving drunk Aztec Camera fans at Aztec Anorak gathering at the Kings Head pub in Fulham in March 2000 ... and rehearsing it in a London cab en route to the gig and the cabbie saying 'what a catchy tune, is that one of you lads' songs'. .... Met my wife because of shared love of Aztec Camera and our son Ethan is in the world partially because of Roddy Frame."

TOM McPHILLIPS, Llanelli, South Wales (nee Glasgow)

Jim Kerr: "Jim Kerr still owes me lines from when he was a snotty first year and I was a prefect. Doubt if I'll get them now."

PETER CLARK, London (nee Dundee)

Edwyn Collins: "After school one day when growing up in Dundee (aged about 8 I think), I went to a school friend's home (her father was a famous artist and lecturer at art college in Dundee) as her granny was looking after us. She in turn took us round to another house where we played with a wee girl about our age called Petra.

I vaguely remember that this house had a fantastic garden, but the single most prominent memory was being told to stay out of her older brother's bedroom, as he would go mental if anyone went in it. Suitably warned, we kept well clear, as Petra was pretty insistent about this. I seem to remember seeing that he had a Jonny 7 (sort of multi purpose machine gun/grenade launcher toy type thing - but then again, I may be imagining that bit - anyway, every kid wanted one).

I never went there again, and indeed, never met Petra again. Which was a pity, as I seem to recall she was quite fit.

Anyhow, many years later, I was at Edinburgh University when the whole Postcard/Orange Juice/ Aztec Camera thing was starting, and went to see them all a good few times.

As Orange Juice became better known, details about the background of the band became known. It seems Edwyn spent part of his youth in Dundee - where his father was a lecturer at the art college - and he had a sister called Petra. Petra had never mentioned her brother's name, but too many coincidences for comfort there.

It would be exaggerating things to state that the imagined threat of this mystical brother of Petra's, apparently prone to extreme violence if anyone went in his room, haunted my childhood years - but she definitely painted a pretty convincing picture of someone we should not cross.

Couldn't quite equate that with the bloke I was now seeing on stage though!"

RICHARD COULTHARD, Waaah Records

Altered Images' "Don't Talk To Me About Love": "I remember being at a works get together and putting 'Don't Talk To Me About Love' on the jukebox about 20 times during the evening. It was upstairs at a pub and I like to think that in someway this contributed to a mate there getting out on the upstairs ledge which resulted in the police and fire brigade being called after he refused to come in. Well eventually he came in and got arrested for breach of the peace. Me and a mate went down the cop shop to see if we could take him home that night but he was so pissed he had to be kept in the cells overnight. My mate who came down with me came out with a phrase I'll remember the rest of my life saying to the duty officer "It's not like he's not intelligent... in fact he's probably more intelligent than the people who are questioning him" which blew any chances of getting him out that night. Happy days!"

MICHAEL G JACKSON, Edinburgh

"I sadly can't remember much of the late 80's; my singles collection from 84-90 serves as a prompt. I only voted for singles I actually own, otherwise the Cateran's cover of She Don't Care About Time would be on there. I saw the Desperadoes more times than any other band, and Splashing Along is my favourite tune. I remember seeing the BMX Bandits at the Hoochie Coochie in 1985 and just being astonished at all these gorgeous girls there; none of them ever came to the rubbish gigs my rubbish bands played. Clare Grogan just had the best wee voice once she stopped trying to be Siouxsie, and Vince Van Yak's rant about having our own culture is as relevant now as it was then. My daughter is in primary one with the youngest daughter of one of the Shop Assistants drummers."

DOUGLAS CUMMING, Glasgow

Gerry Rafferty: "Read the other day that he was carried off a private plane totally legless. Fair enough, if I was coining in the royalties from this monster worldwide smash, I would too. Much respect to Paisley's finest. I even liked the dance version of a few years back."

MARTIN MILLAR (Writer), Brixton

The Fun Four's "Singing In The Showers": "Stupendously good punk single, one of the best. I've never really been able to make out the lyrics but I still love it. I don't know anything about the band, other than that it featured James King. I suspect this single is too obscure to get many votes, unfortunately." (Stop Press: Someone else voted for it Martin!)

JAMES HACKETT (The Orchids), Glasgow

Gun's "Word Up": "There's no excuse for that shit."

LORRAINE MACKINTOSH, Edinburgh

Neil Reid's "Mother of Mine": "I'm a mother and if either of my children sang that to me I'd cringe."

PAUL LIVINGSTON (Trashcan Sinatras)

Nyah Fearties' "Red Kola": "The Fearties used to record at our studios (Shabby Road) in Kilmarnock. Many's the night we'd be rolling in from the pub, only to be confronted by the two Wisemen on the steps, battering sheets of metal with wooden clubs. "Jist recordin' the new single!"

WILLIAM CRAWFORD, Edinburgh/London/USA

Jesus and Mary Chain's "Never Understand": "It was Xmas in Brent Cross Shopping centre and I was the last sales clerk in Our Price. I thought the place was empty so I put this on full blast and wandered into the empty mall. Sounded fantastic. Great surreal moment of my life. It was several minutes before security came running, and they made me turn it off. I offered them wine and we put on Robert Cray, which also was cool in an empty mall!!"