Sharkboy

With this incredible weather we’re having in Toronto these last few days it’s hard to ignore Summertime and I find myself reminiscing about some of the good old days of my youth and the fun Summertime I’ve had. Here is, in no particular order, my favourite top 10 Summer memories:

#06 = Summer of 1985

That was the Summer of music for me… I’ve never gone to so many concerts than that Summer. It seemed that anyone who was popular on the radio, local or international groups had chosen Montreal to come and showcase their new stuff… And it was great.

It all started a little bit before the actual Summer, on March 18 to be exact when Depeche Mode came with the Some Great Reward tour. My life would’ve ceased to exist if I couldn’t have gotten ticket to see them live. At 21, I was probably one of the eldest at Le Spectrum… but fuck’em all… it was Depeche Mode and they were going to sing People are People, Master and Servants but most importantly Blasphemous Rumours… The song that definitely spoke to my generation at the time.

2 weeks later, U2 came to town… Another Must… I don’t particularly care for them anymore, but back then it was a totally different story. Sunday Bloody Sunday would probably appear in my top 10 songs of the 80′s if I was to make such a list. I truly lost my shit when they sang that song that night.

And then Tears for Fears came to Theatre St-Denis in early June… Ooooh la la. You were a total nobody if you didn’t have tickets for that concert. And that night, with my big hair and tight pants, I was a somebody, I sure was.

After that, it was just an endless fashion show as we couldn’t wear the same thing twice to all the concerts we had purchased tickets for. Basically the same crowd went to see the same shows… That Summer we saw OMD, The Smiths, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Nina Hagen, Propaganda, Men Without Hats, Gowan, Go West, Strange Advance and so much more I can’t remember right now… I do remember Morissey from The Smiths being so drunk or stoned or tired that he sang an entire song lying down on the stage on his side with his legs moving… I wasn’t impressed. At $40 / ticket, I preferred my singers standing up on stage and dancing to tell you the truth. (It was still an amazing concert).

None of those bastards dedicated one single song to me. One Summer of concerts, not one dedication.

Still, with all these amazing groups and amazing songs, there was this one gem that was already 2 years old that I kept playing over and over as I truly and amazingly still never got bored of it: