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