I love music..a few bars of a long-forgotten song can instantly transport you back in time to the moment you first heard it, evoking all kinds of memories… the first dance with someone special, the song played over and over again just after a breakup, which is perfect for having a good sob to, or the one that you just HAVE to get up and dance to.

The other night Mr Grump and I were listening to an old 70’s CD, and I was musing over how music had changed so much over the years, My elder sister was desperately in love with Donny Osmond, so my earliest memories were of the sweet, and innocent (might be a song title in there somewhere) songs that he, and his family used to churn out prolifically throughout the 70’s. In a similar vein there was David Cassidy (oh so handsome)., David Essex (he’s still got it), and the Jacksons (always loved their music, not to mention  their crazy outfits)!

Then towards the end of the 70’s suddenly Punk Rock burst onto the scene with their spiky hairdos, safety pins, and bad language (You’ve got to love  the Sex Pistols, Friggin’ in the Riggin’). What a complete turnaround! Gone were the saccharine sweet lyrics, and the wholesome teenage heart-throbs, and in come lyrics that were written to offend, which were SHOUTED rather than sung, and the bands as well as the fans,puking all over each other, or fighting for the sheer hell of it.

The 80s though were my favourite, a bit more classy. The New Romantic look had taken off and bands like ABC, Duran Duran Duran, and Spandau Ballet, were dominating the charts…God knows they probably gave a huge boost to the cosmetics industry as well, with their carefully applied, perfectly made-up faces, (It didn’t put me off Phil Oakey from Human League though, and I still have a bit of a thing for him)!

Disco was a big thing through the 70s and 80’s as well, with groups like the Bee Gees (Unfortunately for them they were not blessed in the looks department, but were brilliant anyway),and The Jacksons, (particularly Michael,he really came into his own in the 80s, and their music guaranteed a full dancefloor at the the one and only nightclub we had in our town back then),

Oh yes, how I loved the music . Of course there were also the rather dubious ‘fashions’ that went along with the music, but the less said about those the better!! I cringe anytime a photo crops up of me in that era, with my garish make-up, awful, clothes, and even worse hair, but I was blissfully unaware at the time, as everyone else looked just as bad, (or good as we thought then)!!  Even Mr Grump had spiky hair and highlights, ( He does miss his hair, Bless him).

My daughter despairs whenever she gets in my car,and Gilbert O’ Sullivan is singing a jaunty little number, or  Kate Bush is wailing pitifully from the CD player. She has not quite learned to appreciate good music yet, no matter how much she has been exposed to it!

The stuff she likes to listen to (like Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, etc ) has to involve people straddling inanimate objects,’twerking’ or some kind of bump and grind routine (the most risque band I can remember were Imagination, or the bloke from Cameo that used to wear that ‘cod piece’ over his trousers)!

She also likes Eminem (actually so do I), but it is hardly easy listening for a young, impressionable child ,I remember when Frankie Goes to Hollywood released ‘Relax’ and it was banned by Radio 1!! Once I twigged what the lyrics were about, I was shocked! (Even though the Sex Pistols were around before them,  their ruder songs never got played n the radio). No problem now though they just blank out the bad bits, even though it is pretty obvious what is being blanked out, and they can usually listen to the uncut version on the internet anyway!

And another thing, not many recents artists have managed to produce a decent Christmas song, Who can compete with Slade, Wizzard, Elton John. Wham, and even good old Cliff Richard ?(you got to hand it to him, he does try). When I was younger, we would watch ‘Top of the Pops’ on Christmas Day to see who had made it to the prestigious number one spot, but now it is almost a foregone conclusion that the winner of X Factor or some such show would have got it!

Still, although I do enjoy some of the music that is around at the moment, I am more than happy to live in my little musical time-warp, as I merrily  screech along to my favourite songs  from yesteryear!