Sid had gained his name because of his unusual [for a soldier] fashion sense - he wore ankle-length fur coats, flowery shirts and had brightly coloured scarves tied round his neck and wrists. He invited me to listen to a track on his record player which he played very loudly. It was I Ain't Superstitious' played by Jeff Beck. It was a remarkable performance and changed my life!
A week later, I was home on Leave in England and visited my usual Gentlemen's outfitters for some new clothes. The shop assistant couldn't believe it and . . . neither could my Mother! I returned wearing a bright yellow tie and dye grandad vest, flared jeans, purple suede boots and a bright yellow imitation leather jacket. Peace, Man! Later, I bought some knee length, fringed boots [like Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull wore].
Within a short time, I went from someone who would spend his quiet hours studying the lives of the Amerindian people in the Amazon rainforest to an attendee of rock concerts. What joy - Led Zeppelin, Ten Years After, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple and more.
I met up with Sid at a base in England three years later. He treated me and some friends to tickets to see a live performance of Tommy performed by the Who and many Superstars of the time at the Rainbow (Finsbury Park Astoria) in London. Those were the days. Picture 1 (below) shows me at the time. Wasn't I thin? The other shows me in my newly acquired Civil Defence greatcoat which was all the rage at the time and cost a few pounds in a military surplus store. The song that changed my life is described in more detail HERE. Enjoy!
Isn't it amazing how something can change one forever (or did you revert to former styles of clothing?) I love the greatcoat - and I still but clothes in charity shops; eases my purse, and helps others at the same time.
ReplyDeleteGreat story, great pics! Makes me think back to my days with an orange and black mohican hair cut - ah! Now if only I had a photo of that. Needless to say, my parents didn't much feel like taking a photo of me at that time. And that was way before everyone had a camera on their cell phones, or even had a cell phone for that matter!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ann. No, I stayed with my new fashion. I have given up the Flares!
ReplyDeleteHi Joanna, orange and black mohican? Wow! I hope your proposed move goes well!
Scary to think about all we did when very young and trying to make fashion statements...
ReplyDeleteYou'd have fit right in at my art college, except your hair would have needed to be at least 8 inches longer.
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