Hue and Cry and Wet Wet Wet
were the first two bands I saw in concert.

I didn't go to another concert for six years. The next two bands I saw were Gorkys Zygotic Mynci and Mogwai.
(Sex Panther, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 10:33, Reply)

NKOTB
Here we go-

1. NKOTB (New kids on the block) concert on my 8th b.day, loved it, Joey was my favourite.

2. Pink ski pants with the hoop around the OUTSIDE of my trainer.

3. Calots (don't know how to spell that). Big shorts/ skirt hybrid with a navy nortical theme thrown in.

The last two could have been my mothers fault, but for the first I have no one to blame but myself.
(asil-b, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 10:20, Reply)

Haircuts
One I haven't seen mentioned

Tramlines... Hair on the top of your head is long and straight, the back and sides is clipped to a number 2.... No blending between the two different lengths. Just a line. And I'd complain all the time because the line wasn't high enough (above my ears basically
( beefandcheese, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 9:36, Reply)

My first album
wasn't a cd, but a tape box set.

Of Cliff Richard.

Not that I'm old enough to have been around in his heyday, but because I actually thought my parents had pretty good music taste.

I even pretended to be a DJ when I was listening to it at home. Well, it was more like 'and the next song is...' in some kind of American accent. I'm British. Thinking back I was actually a pretty shit DJ.

I hate the tosser now.
(lost_monkey, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 8:43, Reply)

Fashion: Shell Suit (black, with green and yellow stripes down the side), circa 1989.
Music: House, techno and assorted rubbish (2 Unlimited, Real 2 Reel, Shaggy, Capella, Culture Beat, Chakka Demus & Pliers, Ace Of Base), circa 1994 to 1999 (I gradually moved into Blur, REM and The Troggs around 1997).

Footwear: everyone else is wearing Reebok Pumps, Puma Discs and Nike Air, I am wearing Astroturf Football Boots, due to my narrow feet (in my defence, I didn't actually like these), cue much ridicule at school (outside school, I think I had Cica trainers, not exactly the epitome of cool).

Best of All: my choice of school bag; remember those Head sports bags that were vaguely toblerone shaped and had a detatchable shoe bag? The main bag would be one colour, with the straps and shoe bag another. To be fair, these were pretty popular bags, but what colours did I choose? Grey (fair enough) and Pink! Not only did I carry an obviously girls bag around secondary school, but when it eventually wore out, I made my parents get me another one exactly the same.

Oh, and for the record, there's nothing wrong with Huey Lewis - the man did (some of) the music for (and starred in) Back To The Future!

[edit: for further shame, the first single I bought was Saturday Night by Whigfield and I had a penchant for luminous, toweling socks (got 3 pairs (pink, green, yellow) from QS when I was probably about 9 years old, and was still wearing them when I was 18 and the elactic had long sinced perished (they may even have travelled to university with me but have long since disappeared); come to think of it, it was only at university that someone pointed out to me that I didn't have to tuck my t-shirt into my trousers ALL THE TIME.]

[edit2: deliberate bad taste: whilst at uni (1997), I went into George at Asda and got myself a lovely pair of white jeans and a horrible, bright orange and green, tartan-like shirt. Add to this, my belt with a chunky buckle, big fat Kickers trainers (which were actually pretty cool) and the fact that it was a hot summer, so I wore the shirt unbuttoned - I looked like a complete and utter chav (some years before the word came back into use) and am amazaed that my girlfriend didn't dump me; I also once turned up dressed in black jeans, and white roll-neck top and a black and white houndstooth jacket and insisted that we go to the pub (like everyone else, she pointed out that I looked like Des Lynam).]
( monster munch person, man, woman... camera... TV?, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 8:20, Reply)

ukelele
I remember when I was really young, wanting and recieving a tape of George Formby's greatest hits. I think I got chas and Daves Christmas Jamborie round that time too.

I saw Cannon and Ball live too, I got some Bobby Ball braces as well. Nice.



No-one is reading my story because it is not that interesting
(manky dog, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 7:49, Reply)

LEGO: Rantus Maximus.
The bastards... Everywhere I go I see lego sets with "special shapes" and Specificly shaped parts.... model "technic lego" cars which have pre-formed suspension wishbones and lumps of engine that can ONLY be a lump of engine... It's no longer adaptive, it's merely a 3D jigsaw puzzle with bumps on it!!!
THEY HAVE DESTROYED LEGO.
I remember having the ability to make ANYTHING from a kit of Lego.... nowadays there is one thing, and one thing only.... Gone is the "make anything out of standard parts" philosophy.... Gone is the need for creativity and imiginativeness. A set of shelves from Ikea is a more adaptive building set.
MY brother and I used to spend AGES making stuff that looked cool.... and now? Castles with frikking BROWN parts in them.... mean...REALLY !!! BROWN!!!! the horror. Colours for LEGO are Red, Yellow, Blue, Black, and Grey.... White at a SERIOUS stretch can be allowed, and Green if you count the big flat sheets... But BROWN???? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!

Technic Motor-set (with two gearboxes)... I salute you.
Servo-motor system with logic gates? GO TO HELL.
Bits or rubber tubing to represent hoses: awesome.
Pre-moulded convolouted exhaust manifold malarky.... (just to make it look REAL) feck RIGHT off. You're taking the PISS!!!

It's like giving Care-bears rocket packs,
It's like giving "my little pony" a stallion's meat-truncheon.
It's lke giving Richard O'Brian a head of hair
It's like making Dinky toys out of PLASTIC.
It's like making John Major the presenter of 'Eurotrash'
It's as socialy acceptable as taking a dump at you're Gran's house, infront of your family, RIGHT on the Turkey.
You just don't DO IT!!!

Ohhh... would you look at this greenfly? Int it terrible?
More-tea-Vicar? hmm?
( Humpty Dumpty was Pushed Is unaware of having any limits., Tue 14 Dec 2004, 7:22, Reply)

boabmaster - your song is...
...KC & The Sunshine Band "Please Don't Go" - (originally released in 1979). I agree it's an absolute shite ballad, but I have to confess to buying KC's "Sound Your Funky Horn" sometime around 1974 I think.
This is by far a much worserer track so don't feel too bad.
(emadex thinks the world will end on, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 6:38, Reply)

Diesel Exhaust
Hunted down buses, just to get a secret whiff.
(Perv With A Dog had his eyes pecked out by scrub jays on, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 5:23, Reply)

"Look Mum! Sausages!"
Once when I was a toddler I was wandering around the neighbourhood. I saw a brown, sausage shaped object lying on the ground.

"Sausages!" I thought excitedly.

I picked it up in my sticky little hands and ran home.

"Look Mum! Sausages!" I said with a huge grin.

"Put it down! ... Dirty!" Mum said with a horrified look on her face and took me to the bathroom to wash my poo stained hands.
(toothless tiger, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 3:40, Reply)

Dear flaming holy God...
...I can't believe people are saying Ricky Martin and Babylon Zoo were their first music purchases. I feel OLD now, goddamit!

First Album: Eurythmics, Greatest Hits;
First CD: Ugly Kid Joe, America's Least Wanted;
First Single: Bruce Springsteen, Streets Of Philadelphia;

I also believe I win on the shellsuit front. I had an England shellsuit. Oh yes. I also had a Naff Co 54 jacket - bow down and worship me now.

Whilst we're on this subject and we appear to be knocking around mainly 80's/90's nostalgia, I have a sub-question: does anybody remember a cartoon about a girl and a dog that wandered on to a spaceship and got blasted to a planet of robots? All the good robots were dysfunctional in some way and all the bad robots were poor imitations of Cylons and said 'Affirmative' all the time. If someone can name that, I will send them a pen, and they will see that the pen is good.

/firstpost - rock on!
(salexc has nothing but respect for Handy Manny, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 3:29, Reply)

oh no!
im so cool my first cd was that vengaboys track, u no,,, up & down.. & up & down.. & up & down.. & up & down.. & UP... DDD D DD DD

I now lisen to slipknot, cradle of filth, dimmu borgir, the berzerker, thankfully!
(Dark-Angel, Tue 14 Dec 2004, 3:16, Reply)

Oh my god, where do I start?
Many things I can think of, but I think the most embarassing memory is that I actually asked my mum for a pink pram as a present for Chrimbo when I was a young lad.
Why? To push my Care Bears around in, of course.

Jesus wept, I can't believe I did that. I must have looked like a right girl.

Although, in my defence, I was cool enough to realise that Cubs/Beavers/Scouts were SHIT (and I don't care what anyone says about that)
(Hammer Time, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 23:34, Reply)

my first record
was that song that went "uh oh, we're in trouble, somethings come along and its burst our bubble" thing. i loved that track...still do...you wonder why im single???
(Genghis_kahn, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 22:24, Reply)

My first record.....
was Brontasaurus by the Move, I'm 48 and three quarters now and I still like it....coat got..and me gone
(dubversion, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 22:21, Reply)

Novas
There used to be a very nice kit car based on the VW beatle, called the Nova. tiny two seater, hydraulic lifters take the windscreen and roof off for you to get in, and it's less than 3' off the ground. My dad showed me a picture of one when I was small.

I then spent the next few years saying how Novas were teh best car ever and how I really wanted one, until eventually someone told me what everyone else thought I was talking about. They must've thought I was a right chav.
( Lum, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 21:31, Reply)

Imagine, if you can....
When i was a lass, i think about the age of 6, i had a sweatshirt. It was a white sweatshirt. The cuffs and collar of this sweatshirt were luminous green. On my sweatshirt there was a picture of a crocodile reclining on a sunlounger. The crocodile had a beatbox next to him, and when you pressed the beatbox it played 'You are my sunshine'.

Oh how i loved it at the time...
(betterpants, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 21:31, Reply)

I've had glasses since age 2
and we couldn't afford fancy ones, so I was forced to wear plastic safety goggle style NHS thingummys
so far so bad

but one year in late 80's my mother decided to paint them with red nail varnish

thanks ma!
( VampireMonkeyOnSpeed a super sexy sexual sex terrorist sex, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 20:15, Reply)

Bad Taste? Moi?
Okay. Phew, this is going to be brutal.

From the time I was born my mum insisted upon cutting my hair herself. Which would be fine if she didn't have ten thumbs.

Here I am aged 12, bowl cut all present and correct:



I am standing behind my brother. Notice the lively and colourful shirt I'm wearing. Also notice that my brother is wearing the same shirt. Moving on swiftly . . .

Once I started going to the barber for haircuts my hairstyles improved, right? Look as this pic and judge for yourselves:



Oh yeah! Check out the half-inch thick parting. The wonder is not that I was bullied but that I wasn't bullied MORE.

This is me, aged 16, on my class photo:



When my friend's dad saw the photo he pointed at me and asked "who's this girl?"

Gets worse. Me aged 18:



Come get it, ladies. This is when I hadn't been to the barbers for about 8 months. Eventually I grew it into a ponytail. (The horror, the horror.)

Thank Christ I developed a sense of style when I was about 21 and started going to hairdressers. I've had generic, spiky hair since then.

Apologies for (hair) length.
(MrC. Having the most boring username on b3ta since 2004, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 20:11, Reply)

hmmm
bollocks to this taste thing...

i dont have any!!!

only thing i have good taste in, is women, although - i'm not tasteful enough to get one :(

transformers still rock
the crystal maze is still cool
and lego, is still the best kids toy EVER!!!

i had a bright illuminous campari ski jacket which i wore to school -
3rd year of high school -

that was 1996 then, lmao
(VashTheStampede http://www.b3ta.com/features/howtopoachanegg/, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 19:35, Reply)

gap
oh, I was the gap kid. I had these little white denim short overalls that I'd wear with my little white keds shoes and hot pink socks and a hot pink tshirt and hot pink sunglasses. *shudder*
( Funtastic Pony Magic, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 18:19, Reply)

now a song that has been good to me over the years........
I had my first girlfriend, aged 9. She was the cool girl at school. I danced with her mate at the disco. She dumped me, What’s the best thing to do? Not just to leave it, not just to utter “ I’m well out of your league anyway ,doll” and tell every one I had felt her boobies. (I was 9; boobies were a big deal. especially to her. She was the only one to have any.*) Oh no, I sang a shitty, cheezy pop tune to her. In front of the whole school, during a fire drill. A school that’s over 1000 pupils. What was the sound track to one of the most gut wrenchingly, arse hole tightningly, cringe worthy moment of my pre-pubescent life?
“ Babe I love you soooo, and I want you to know,
That I’m, gonna miss your love,
The minute you walk out that door”
(Feel free to join in! Any one can enter this nightmare!)
“Please don’t go, please don’t go, don’t goooooooooo, I’m begging you to stay, please don’t go.”
That song plagues my nightmares. I still see her now and again, and she still mentions it. In reply, I remind her that I am still well out of her league, then tell everyone I felt her boobies.

Bad taste on so many levels.
Any one remember who sang it?


* Apart from Iqubal the fat Asian guy. Man-breast factor 5.
(Jeeves, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 17:46, Reply)

My last one was far too tame
I discovered orgasm and subsequently proper masturbation at the tender age of 11 after finding one of my dad's scud flicks in the wardrobe and lying on my front rubbing myself up and down on the living room carpet while watching it. I don't remember cleaning up after myself
(sammagoo, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 17:19, Reply)

Pump it up
Aged 11 I was utterly convinved that Reebok sportswear was the coolest thing in the world, especially Reebok pump trainers. As luck would have it my Uncle generously bought me a pair of 'the pump' / 'Hexalite' 'Blacktops' for xmas. They looked great with my turquoise 'the pump' branded shellsuit trousers and 'the pump' white / luminous yellow T shirt and matching socks.

For a short time I felt spoilt, and only now do I realise just how many ways that was true.
( chrisjohnson, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:56, Reply)

I wear glasses. Not just any glasses.
My first set were reasonably normal (chosen by Dad, if i'd had way...)

My second set were green and red (Timmy Mallet style, he was cool…wasn’t he?…)

My third set were gold, blue and had purple arms. PURPLE arms! My logic was it would blend in with my skin. “Of course dear” said Mum who did nothing to stop me.
I was bullied and my teachers thought I was gay.

My fourth set (I’m now 14) had frames the size of a tennis ball. FOR NO REASON. They were also brown.

Edit: Pictures. Be aware I now wear FCUK, slightly fashionable glasses now Clicky Clicky Clicky (230k)
(Mr_Insanity, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:43, Reply)

Not sure if this has already been posted...
...But I'm not gonna read thru 10 pages just to check.

As most children, I picked up the recorder at an early age. In my defence I only did it because I wanted to play the violin, and the scool rule was that you had to learn recorder before another instrument. But I did enjoy it... And I never did take up the violin.

At 9 I learned guitar, and am now fairly accomplished in music. The recorder is now the bain of my existance.
( Styxx hates when people talk in the third person, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:36, Reply)

Goffik...
Although my beloved says I was a 'cute little goff boy'.
(Predatory Sock, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:32, Reply)

'My Fave Tracks'
The music tastes mentioned on here remind me of the first tape I ever made. Entitled ‘My Fave Tracks’ it contains the following:

Jean Michel Jarre - 2 tracks of pure 60’s trance
Rod Stewart - 2 tracks of pure scottish rock music (Drums? Check. Bass and Air Guitar? Check. Bagpipes and flute? Check. Old drunk moaning during guitar solo? Check.)
Tubular Bells II - The long one with loads of instruments and a man with a funny voice. Which I thought this was great
GLORY GLORY MAN UNITED!!!!!!!!! -And I’m a Luton fan but it sounded cool
Commodores - or something, “Don’t leave me this way, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..BABY!!!!1!”)
Ode to Joy - …Direct from the Civilisation II game…indeed.
The Miami Vice Theme Tune -I used to dance to this…

And these were my ‘favourite’.

After that its Madonna, Bananarama, classic Kylie and The Pointer Sisters all the way.

My current ‘archived’ CD collection includes Huey Lewis and the News too (It’s hip to be square! lol, rofl, /coat), The Lion King soundtrack and err..Tubular Bells II.
(Mr_Insanity, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:31, Reply)

Chalk Dust, anyone?
The first single I ever bought was the appalling 'Chalk Dust -- the Umpire Strikes Back' by 'the Brat'.

Yup, a Wimbledon-based novelty record. You can read the pant-wettingly funny lyrics -- which I knew by heart -- here: www.vinylsingles.co.uk/chalkdust.htm

I didn't even like tennis. Still don't.
( Safetyfox, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 16:06, Reply)

Not me, but...
...my fucking rommate at university. So not even childhood, either. Drew the short straw in getting a double room as it was in my first term - but the shortest straw was his music collection:

Everything by Queen (including interviews taped off the radio)
Everything by Meatloaf
Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds

That was it in entirety.

I got my own back by pissing on his bed, though. With him in it.

Mind you, I never told him about my early love of the Thompson Twins - first album was "into the gap"
( randompunter, Mon 13 Dec 2004, 15:44, Reply)