I came from a background where music, not books, highlighted and defined my life, Isabel de Vasconcellos and Stuart Wright. But Clive Jamess compilations of his TV reviews for The Observer, Visions Before Midnight, The Crystal Bucket and Glued to the Box made a big impression on me. Funny, smart and stylish writing. Spike Milligans war diaries were also much favoured in Deane mansions. I recall sitting on a train and laughing until I snotted at his recollections of the white eared elephant. Id studied World War 2 pretty intensely for my A Levels. Spike reminded me that it was also a time when thousands of young working class men went abroad en mass for the first time. The human side of history. Back in 78 Tony Parsons had reviewed my record Saturday Night Beneath The Plastic Palm Trees for the NME and very generously described me as Londons riposte to Damon Runyon. I didnt have a clue who Runyon was. I read his Guys and Dolls compilation and became a fan for life. His use of slang, colloquialisms and nicknames to colour the world he wrote about was something I happily aped from there on. Reggae journalist extraordinaire Penny Reels essay The Young Mods Forgotten Story is a lovely piece of writing which also favours a Runyonesque lilt. I must have read it a thousand times. His book Deep Down With Dennis Brown is also worth a few weeks of any music fans time. In the 80s Will Self gave me his copy of The Most Of SJ Perelman which showed me where much of the humour I liked, such as Woody Allen and the Marx Brothers grew from. It also led me to Dorothy Parker for which I doff my cap to Will once again. Having mates more erudite than ones self is something Id recommend to anyone. Somewhere along the line I inhaled Amistead Maupins Tales Of The City. Like Runyon (although nothing like Runyon) he helped instill me with a love for the kind of colourful characters that often fly under the radar. Ive also had Alan Bennetts Untold Stories next to my bed since the day I bought it.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 08:50:37 +0000
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