Going to OAD is like going on a
date. The first date is exiting and all
new, you don’t know what to expect, what to wear, how it will be. I am now on my third date with OAD and I
think it could be the start of a beautiful relationship. I still get excited, but that is because I
know the promise of what is to come…
Everyone remembers their first
love. Why? Because it was their first. Your first love, the first record you bought, the
first time you (well you know!)…We live our lives by a list of firsts.
My first experience of OAD had
been magnificent. It had been the Heaven
17 special. It had been special and I
fell head over heels in love with OAD. How
would another special be? Would it be as
good at the first time? Of course it
would!
This was a very special night. It was OAD’s 4th birthday and Rusty
Egan was there to make it even more special! Many veteran Darklings came along especially
for this along with some people who had never been before. It was a lovely mix and everyone was friendly
and welcoming. You are made to feel like
you belong. This is such a unique place
to be. It is an eclectic mix of people
who all come to worship the music genres played.
A special occasion calls for a
special effort. I had not crimped my hair
for over 25 years. (With one exception
for a fancy dress party). But it felt
right. It looked right. Damn it, I was right to do it and the lovely
responses I had from fellow Darklings meant I had made the right decision.
I was one of the first people to
meet Rusty. He was a lovely man who told
my husband how lucky he was to have me. (I hope hubby was listening!) Rusty was warm, friendly and happy to sign
our stuff. It was a real pleasure to
meet him.
My hubby is an ex-DJ who loves mixing. He was very keen to hear Rusty’s sets from a
technical point of view. Personally, I
couldn’t begin to see how you can mix so many genres together (New Wave, Electronic,
Glam, Punk, Goth) but the genius that is Rusty Egan did so. He started his set with the German version of Heroes
(Could anyone ask for more?) and followed it up with Hard times by the Human
League. Everyone was on the dance
floor. We had love song (Simple Minds),
Heart of Glass (Blondie) and Memorabilia (Soft Cell). He followed that up with the night version of
Planet Earth (Duran Duran). He did not
play a bad track and it flowed fantastically. He also gave his new track, Dreamer (Metroland Night Version) an airing and it went down very well. Rusty is a very talented DJ who can impress
other DJ’s as well as keep everyone dancing on the dance floor.
But let me tell you about the other
music that was played, or in other words, why you should come every month!
I counted more than six Bowie
tracks. I feel so chuffed that I can go
to a club that will play Bowie. It is
wonderful to find people like Debbie and David (and I am sure many more that I
don’t know yet) who love Bowie as much as I do. I counted at least five different Bowie
T-shirts. Nice taste people!
I have always loved Soft Cell. I once wrote to Jim’ll fix it to ask if I
could meet Marc Almond at a fairground.
I never got a reply. (Just as well now we know what we know about Jimmie
Saville). But my love of Soft Cell never
dies. I really enjoyed dancing to Memorabilia
and Soft Cell is a staple diet at OAD. Feed me!
Duran Duran are from Birmingham
and in honour of that, they too are played every time. Planet Earth was the outing this time around.
And the original rum runner video was
played especially for all those who were original rum runners.
A lot of early Human League was
played. I actually woke up the next
morning with ‘Empire State Human’ in my head. (When I told Martyn this, he
laughed!) Also at least two Heaven 17
tracks were played. I was in the ladies
when ‘Let me go’ was playing. So I got
everyone in the queue to sing along and held the door ajar so we could hear it!
Pretty Vacant by the Sex pistols
came on the TV screens. (Did I mention
there are lots of videos played on TV screens?) I am not a fan of the Sex Pistols. I know I will probably get abuse for saying
this, but it’s my personal opinion they did not produce good music. Or maybe I was just a bit young to appreciate
it fully. However I love the punk
movement and what it represents. I agree
that individuals who feel let down by the system should have a way of expressing
how they feel. I love Green Day and
think they have carried this punk ethos into enjoyable punk music with a huge
energy and attitude. Green Day are the
modern day punks and this is all due to the Sex Pistols. Therefore I have to respect what the Sex Pistols
have given us along with all the bands that followed due to the influence of
the Sex Pistols.
I feel love by Donna Summer has
to be the best dance record of all time. It has so much going on. It fits all genres and crosses any boundaries.
It is a mark of pure genius in the world
of music.
I have always wanted to be
Blondie. Unfortunately I look a lot more
like Kate Bush than Debbie Harry. But I
had always thought Debbie Harry was the ultimate icon and tonight (Mathew I am
going to be) Blondie for about 3 minutes while Rapture plays. For those three minutes I really was Blondie
(I know every word to Rapture) and gave it my all! No one came for my autograph afterwards. However after dancing (rather wildly) to B52’s’
Rock Lobster I did get comments about how quirky I am! Sounds about right.
This was only my third outing to
OAD, but already I feel like I’m family.
I have made some wonderful friends there and of course you can never
have too many friends so I hope to carry on going and making more friends.
OAD – Happy birthday with many
many returns!!
Hear Rusty's new track here: https://soundcloud.com/the-electricity-club/rusty-egan-dreamer-metroland#play
