Bringing Positive Change - BGC

BRINGING POSITIVE CHANGE

BGC - “Every year on September 11th, in conjunction with the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, we remember our 658 friends and colleagues and the 61 Euro brokers employees who were tragically killed by distributing 100% of our global revenues to the Relief Fund and many other charities around the world.”

Yesterday I attended the annual BGC day. The day was fun filled with many different charities benefitting from many acts of kindness, the building was filling up with a broad range of celebrities and ambassadors to represent those charities on the trading floor with commissions being won and donated to help so many great causes.

Muscular Dystrophy UK invited some families along for a festival themed day of fun and I think everyone left with huge smiles on their faces and also left feeling quite tired, I know I was!

There are many pictures below to show you what the day looked like, but I just wanted to share a few personal highlights of my own.

Rosie Davies recently shared her story with Muscular Dystrophy UK, telling us how her son; Finley had been on a treatment journey, a journey they never thought they would be on. Yesterday Finley was on the trading floor and sold a huge amount of stock and made £10,000 in commission (to go to the charities benefitting), he was beaming, and Rosie (Mum) and Joel (Dad) were laughing out loud and full of pride, as Rosie explained to me later.

Our Skye had been invited along to represent ‘Young Carers’, those young people that go above and beyond and help relatives and loved ones that live with a disability like mine. Things that many people take for granted like putting shoes and socks on, helping me get my wheelchair in and out of the car boot, shopping, cleaning, tidying and generally doing lots of things that any other adult would do. Later in the afternoon Skye met former West Ham striker Carlton Cole and they got chatting and Skye told Carlton why she was there, and she was very shy about it. Carlton was so impressed, he explained how his mother had been a carer all her life and he called Skye and all the people like Skye “Societies Unsung Heroes” and hearing that from him made me so proud and Skye just shrugged her shoulders… “It’s just what I do because it’s my dad”

Later in the afternoon, about an hour before we were leaving, I met a lady called Edie Lutnick, Edie was asking me if I was ok, enjoying the day, anything she could do for me? We got talking and Edie explained to me that she was the co-founder of Cantor Fitzgerald relief fund, the reason why everyone was there yesterday and the many years before. Edie and her brother set up the fund after losing their brother in the world trade centre on 9/11. This was an opportunity for me to show some gratitude and explain from a charity and personal perspective how important yesterday was and what a world of difference the funds raised would make and that what they have done with the BGC day is the pinnacle of selflessness. We shared a huge hug and then Edie took Skye under her wing for photos and to guess what flavour the huge celebration cake was.

In so many respects, a proud and emotional day.

Carlton Cole appreciating carers in society

Edie Lutnick, Co-Founder talking cake with Skye

Tomorrow (03/09/22) I will descend on Wembley Stadium, London, England. The reason for this is so I can attend a tribute concert to Taylor Hawkins, who in case you didn’t know was the drummer for the Foo Fighters - and I bloody love the Foo Fighters! Sadly, Taylor passed away on 25th March 2022, but evidence of his legacy is why I’m here and writing this. I have mixed emotions as I’m getting ready for this super gig as yes, it’s a huge historical musical event, but it’ll be missing a crucial piece. The upcoming gig has also been a catalyst for me this week to ask myself questions about my devotion to music - such as why I love it so much - and trust me, I really, really love music!

Subjective; a definition of which is “based on or influenced by personal feelings, tastes, or opinions”. I think when talking about music is where I use this word the most, whenever you speak to anyone or read anything about music, opinions are always subjective, there is no good or bad music and therefore you can never be right or wrong when talking about it. There is a difference however between someone who listens to the music and someone who truly hears the music - and I think after all these years I hear the music; it really goes in and stays (If I want it to).

The origins of this are in growing up with parents who would play music on a Saturday or Sunday morning whilst doing housework. Everyone up, bed covers off, all windows open, hoover going, record player on. The record player in their house would play Boney M, The Beatles, Stevie Wonder (Songs in the Key of Life), Buddy Holly, Status Quo (I know right - but Dad went to school with Francis Rossi), Kraftwerk, Diana Ross, Jean-Michel Jarre and so much more.

In fact, the tradition of cleaning while playing music loudly has now been handed down to my very own family, albeit without the record player, instead it’s blasted out on a Yamaha soundbar using Bluetooth. After my parent’s influence next came that of my older brother, friends, and the estate on which we grew up and I just fell in love with so much, but my genres of choice were reggae and hip hop (The latter not just because of the tunes, but also the graffiti, trainers and breakdancing too!).

What I found fascinating about both these scenes were the opportunities artists took to spread a message. With reggae you had Bob Marley telling the world about the injustices people faced, singing selflessly for others. The same can be said for the likes of Public Enemy (For example on Fight the Power), a group feared by the authorities because they knew that they had the kind of influence which could overturn them. Other bands and movements like punk had a similar menace to the system, and rock bands with both shredding guitars and voices were too, Zack De La Rocha and Rage Against the Machine embodying people’s desire for rebellion (Sample lyrics “Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me”). I embrace this, I love it when people tell us to stick it to the man!

I have been lucky enough over the years to be very vocal about my passion for music. During the height of Oasis Vs Blur fever in 1995, I was working at HMV and getting a 30% discount too! My back catalogue and library of compact discs grew massively and once again I was being influenced, this time by what I was hearing on the shop floor.

Now my earlier influences in Kraftwerk and Jean-Michel Jarre were transitioning to The Flaming Lips and even today it’s that love of embracing new things that makes me for instance the biggest Future Islands fan. That job genuinely made me feel like a kid in a sweet shop, with influencers around me every day, colleagues saying things like “If you like that Martin, you might like this.” I remember once getting a limited edition copy of an album called ‘Dookie’ by a band I’d never heard of called Green Day. Wow! I still play that album from track one to fourteen now and don’t ever skip a song. Whenever a customer asked me what my personal taste was my answer was always “Anything from Abba to Zappa” because it was and still is, plus it made complete, alphabetical sense working in a record shop that displayed everything that way.

It wasn’t just working in a record store that filled me with new possibilities, that made my musical knowledge and love broader, my older brother as I previously mentioned was also hugely influential in the development of my listening habits. I never remember receiving a mix tape from a girl as a sign of affection when I was younger - it was always from my brother, like clothes and toys too, times were hard! I did however learn how to compose the right mix tape myself and send them onto Michelle, my now wife, so cheers bro.

As times have changed, I have shared my views and tastes of music on social media and spoke to a lot of like-minded people and I bloody love it. The record collection in my brain is huge, it’s like a massive psychological flight case up there. One of the biggest influencers on me in recent years is my mate Mr Arctic Reviews; Andy P to most. I was lucky enough to be able to write a piece explaining my love of music whilst writing as guest blogger on Andy’s website and that article is here - Lively Up Yourselves . Andy is an amazing writer and I can only wish to be anywhere near his standards, to be able to wear your heart on your sleeve and express that passion in written paragraphs is extremely difficult, kudos to Andy and others just like him, we’re not worthy.

Back to the future, tomorrow we descend on Wembley stadium to pay tribute to a rock icon - but the day won’t simply be a commemoration of Taylor Hawkins work, it’s going to be a celebration of his life and seeing the extensive and diverse line-up I consider myself extremely lucky to be there.

Music has always been and will always a very important part of my life. It’s lifted me to my highest heights and picked me up when I have been at my lowest lows, it’s an energy that I thrive on. On days when I am suffering most with my life-limiting, muscles-wasting condition I can rely on music to keep me moving, for my mind to then go to a positive place, as there’s nothing at all that is negative about it, and it makes me quite ironically feel like I’m standing over 10 feet tall.

Thanks for reading – and whatever kind of music you love - get listening!

“One Good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain!” – Bob Marley