Meadies Musical Marconi

 This interview, and other interviews I’ve done with members of The High, originally featured on a fab website all about The High which has now sadly been closed. Tracking down John proved particularly tricky but eventually he let me openly contact him which resulted in this rare interview at the time it was published: What were your early music influences? Having two older sisters meant there was all sorts of music being blasted out of different bedrooms and my Dad's record player downstairs...Punk and new romantic from my sisters and big band jazz and disco from my Dads.. Guitar bands from America were my biggest early influence such as REM, Rain Parade etc... These were the bands all my friends listened to and talked about... First gig you went to? Older Sister influences again, went to the Apollo to see erm....UB40.. Think I was 16 or 17 and got very drunk in Piccadilly Gardens before the gig... Being at a venue where everyone has come to see something live was and ...

The lasting impact of Manchester band The High and their recorded output is still loved by their adoring fans to this day. Singles Up & Down, Take Your Time and Box Set Go are classics of their generation including their masterful debut album Somewhere Soon. The following interviews were conducted as separate interviews by Matt Mead in 2015 & 2016. They have now been compiled into one to bring you the personal, compelling and humorous story of The High.  Can you tell me about your upbringing? Chris Goodwin : Music was everywhere in our house growing up. My Dad was (is) a great singer and loved Frank Sinatra, my Mum was (is) into Shirley Bassey and The Carpenters. My 3 sisters (no brothers) were massive fans of Marc Bolan, David Bowie then later punk and my youngest sister Gill is a Paul Weller obsessive!! So i couldn’t have asked for a better grounding than listening to these artists booming out of every room. You can see from an early stage i wasn't gonna take up...