Meadies Musical Marconi

  Hi Corey. Can you tell us abit about your upbringing? I was raised in a quiet town 15 miles east of San Francisco. Like many of my music heroes, i was a bored teenager looking for action and discovered skateboarding and punk rock at a young age, and was doing whatever I could to spend my time hanging out in the city and getting away from normality of the blue collar burbs. What was the first music you got into? My mom always had good rock n roll playing in the car and introduced my two brothers and I, to good stuff at early ages. I cant ever remember not having a turntable or boombox around for us to enjoy. In the car, even to this day, my mom still listens to the alternative rock station. In the 90s, it was MTV, and my older cousins would give us tapes with cool bands. I remember buying Beck ‘I’m A Loser’, at 9 years old. My mom took me to the store to pick up the cassette single. She probably picked up a Nirvana, album that day or Smashing Pumpkins. I remember thinking it...

Hi Chris, how are you? Hello Matthew, tonight im gonna be Chris Goodwin, all good in the hood. Tell us abit about your upbringing? Music was everywhere in our house growing up. My Dad was (is) a great singer and loved sinatra, my Mum was (is) into Shirley Bassey and the carpenters. My 3 sisters (no brothers) were massive fans of Bolan, Bowie then later punk and my youngest sister Gill is a Paul Weller obsessive!! Lol So i couldn’t have asked for a better grounding than listening to these artists booming out of every room ,so you could see from an early stage i wasnt gonna take up stamp collecting ……….saying that i did a good racket with the green shield stamp books………(older viewers only) How did you get into drumming? The first time i picked up two of my mums fat knitting needles and started whacking f@ck out of a cushion (percussion) i knew 2 things. 1: I was gonna be a drummer & 2: I’ve just found out im allergic to dust …. In the school holidays me and a couple o...

  How are you Simon? I’m very well thanks, Matt. Can you tell us about your upbringing? I was born in Urmston, Manchester and lived in and around that area until I was fourteen years old when the family moved out to Poynton, Cheshire. My upbringing was a mixture of Manchester suburbs and open fields, which I’ve always felt fortunate to have experienced as a kid. What was the first music you got into? I did what every musically inclined kid who doesn’t have any older siblings does and gravitated toward my dad’s record collection. The music that I found in there was Santana, The Who, Led Zeppelin, and some weird chanting stuff from Denmark – but that’s another story. How did you start playing bass? My dad was a bass player in Manchester bands during the 1960’s. But in the 70’s he started to frequent the Ducie Arms pub where an older Irish guy named Danny (Shovlin, I believe was his surname) led a traditional Irish music session and mentored my dad to learn the violin. D...

 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...

One Summer were the band that were formed by members of Manchester’s The High with a couple of mates, plus a backing of entourage from some of the north’s capitol hot spot. Having been a fan of The High for many a year it was an absolute pleasure to conduct this interview with members of the band, their manager and Pete Mitchell (RIP) who I spoke to before his tragic passing. This interview predates the bands reunion for Colin White’s Vinyl Revival anniversary celebration at the Ruby Lounge where the band reformed for a one off gig. This appeared on Louder Than War 21.4.17: “One Summer – why aren’t they bigger than the Roses?” There have been many many bands who’ve held the title ‘should’ve been bigger’ and one of the great lost bands that should’ve certainly been bigger are Manchester band One Summer. Twenty years after the band split their ex-manager, with the help of Vinyl Revival Recordings, are releasing their debut release for the forthcoming Record Store Day 10th anniversary. Lo...