I was listening to some 80s music with Debs, which always takes us back to our younger days. We were both born in the late 60s, so it doesn’t take much for a song to bring back a particular time, place or memory.
Anyway, Debs casually mentioned that she saw Adam and the Ants when she was just 13.
Ruddy Nora! I was 18 before I went to my 1st concert, although I didn’t choose too badly. It was the mighty Iron Maiden at the old Town and Country Club in Leeds.
They were chuffing amazing.
Another top list I was thinking of putting together was a list of my favourite National Anthems, I thought about this while watching coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, there are some dreadful ones!
I might have to do two lists, one just music and one with lyrics, I think it might make a difference!
Some early contenders are:
I need to list my Top 10 Iron Maiden songs, in order at some time.
The list is likely to include:
I have noticed that this only goes up to the mid 90s, gonna have to listen to some of their later stuff as there are some good tunes in there.
Ooo. Wicker Man, Hell on Earth, The Writing on the Wall.
But I will listen to albums from the last 20 years before I make my final decision.
Up The Irons
I love rock music and metal, but I’ve always carried around what feels like a slightly controversial opinion about Van Halen.
To me, they often felt like a novelty act.
Not in the sense that they lacked talent, because that would be (partly) ridiculous, but in the way they presented themselves. The spandex. The songs designed solely to show off Eddie Van Halen's guitar skills. The massive hair. The goofy onstage antics. David Lee Roth bouncing around like some chaotic circus ringmaster. At times they felt less like a dangerous rock band and more like a cartoon version of one.
They definitely has the style over substance thing down to a fine art.
Sometimes they only seemed a couple of steps removed from Bad News.
And yet I do understand what Van Halen brought to the genre.
Eddie Van Halen changed rock guitar forever, and it wasn't just technically. The tapping, the tone, the production ideas, the sheer energy in his playing. Rock guitar after Eddie sounded different because of Eddie.
Then there’s the fact that I realise that novelty acts tend not to dominate arenas for over a decade. They don’t release multiple huge albums. And they definitely don’t survive replacing an iconic frontman with somebody completely different (or at least I'm struggling for an example of when they do).
Van Halen somehow pulled off one of the hardest tricks in rock history when Sammy Hagar replaced David Lee Roth (Iron Maiden did it and just about got away with it IMHO).
Van Halen changed style massively, became more polished, more melodic, and arguably more consistent. I’d even say they became a better band under Sammy Hagar, although I know that opens up another argument entirely.
So maybe the truth is that Van Halen were both things at once.
They looked ridiculous. They acted ridiculous. Their songs are just ridiculous, and parts of the whole thing were pure theatre.
But underneath all of that was one of the most important rock bands ever assembled.
And maybe that’s why they worked so well, even though I don't like them!