Let’s face it; what she did was wrong but it wasn’t a hanging offence and to get fined £1.2 million is laughable. Perhaps if the record industry offered better value and encouraged more free targeted music like Spotify then they wouldn’t have this type of trouble. Remember home taping is killing music !

I’ve been listening to TV on the Radio recently and enjoyed them when they were on Jools Holland’s Later as they seemed a little different from the norm. I didn’t realise they were so hip. Good enough for Rolling Stone, good enough for me.

Whilst I can’t claim to have been to any where near the amount of gigs Ray has, I was a fervent gig goer in my younger days. I’ve been to a few of the same gigs as him and one of his favourites is the May 1977 gig with The Clash, The Buzzcocks and The Slits. I always remember Joe Strummer diving into the audience at that gig and in a rather punk way no one caught him and everyone stomped on top of him !

I exchanged emails with Ray and he reminded me that bands like The Sex Pistols and The Clash really did shake music up here in Britain and were sorely needed at the time. Me and my mates were looking round for new things to listen to as everything seemed stale so Punk was a godsend. We were listening to German bands such as Kraan and Ash Ra Tempel just to hear something different. Punk exposed us to lots of different types on music including Reggae and it all made things a bit more fresh.

I remember buying the first Rainbow album in 1976 as I’d always liked Ritchie Blackmore and finding dull and overblown. I knew then things needed to change and change they did for a little while. For me Punk hasn’t really stood the test of time and whilst I still enjoy classic Clash and Sex Pistols most of the other stuff I wouldn’t listen to now. I’m more likely to enjoy pre-punk stuff now but at the time, we had a great time going to the gigs and enjoying the music.

I’ve been playing guitar for over thirty years and I think it’s brilliant that technology allows you to produce music using a PC.

This was recorded using the following:

Cakewalk’s Guitar Tracks Pro 3

Edirol UA-20

Zoom 3030

Yamaha Pacifica 112

The song is based on the opening bass sample which is in the style of the Human League hence the title.

John Peel played one of our records when we were in a band and I met him once and he was a jolly fine chap. He introduced me to lots of music via his show and he gave exposure to many bands who wouldn’t normally have been heard.

One unusual fact about him was that when Lee Harvey Oswald was presented at a press conference John blagged his way in by saying he was a reporter for the Liverpool Echo. As someone who’s been interested in the Kennedy assasination, I always admired his front for being there as history was made.