Monday 12th October

When people ask me about my favourite decade of Music they are often surprised by my answer.  I say the “Seventies”, when they are expecting me to say the “Sixties”.  I grew up in the fifties and remember “Rock Around the Clock” and some of Elvis, but my musical awakening coincided exactly with the emergence of The Beatles in 1962.  But…..I didn’t start buying my own records until the Seventies; I worked backwards later.  I think in terms of sheer diversity and musical invention the Seventies were slightly better than the Sixties.  We have a couple of 5 disc compilations of “Sixties” songs in the café and amongst the gems is an awful lot of dross too (Both Ken Dodd and Englebert had No. 1’s in the sixties).

That said I was really looking forward to a Saturday special “Sixties Night” at Le Pub Gambetta.  And with Geoff Barker and Rob Russell singing and playing guitar and electric piano I was not disappointed.  Surprisingly they (or Rupert) decided to hold it inside the pub rather than under the arches.  It is chilly now in the evenings, but the arches and the square do add something to the atmosphere, especially giving room for dancers to do their worst.  But inside it was, and not a seat to be found, so I stood at the bar for a while.  Another night of great music.  I came in around 9.15, as I had also been invited to a birthday dinner which I couldn’t refuse to attend.  On the bar was the set list, and I saw that they were about a third of the way through.

What I didn’t know was that this was just page one – and page two was almost as long.  Rupert joined them for a few numbers and it was fantastic; when you know every song it is a joy to sing-along with (for me if for no-one else).  I left at about 11.30, as I had to get up for the café tomorrow and the dogs were on their own.  They still had at least twenty songs to go and showed no signs of flagging.  However I did.  The night was called “Sixties night” and I wasn’t sure if it referred to the music or the audience, barely one of whom was under that age, myself included….hahaha