Special Interests
Long Standing Obsessions (Page 1)
Contents
Introduction
'When is an obsession not an obsession? When it is football'.
- Luke Jackson
This quote from the author of 'Freaks, Geeks and Asperger Syndrome' sums up our attitude towards obsessions. In one sense, some consider watching 22 males on a football field as weird as spotting roundabouts. This is good coming from me.
'What's your obsession?'
In my time, I have had several 'obsessions', of which some that have come and gone in weeks, and some have lasted several years. Some of them have recurred in phases.
My longest serving special interest has lasted for just over two decades. That is public transport. This, I claim, began in April 1984, with a trip to the National Railway Museum in York. Later on, this was followed up by a trip to the Bury Transport Museum (now part of the East Lancashire Railway). From about 1985, my love of trains extended to buses, mainly those of Greater Manchester Transport. The extremity of this is reflected in the architecture of this website.
The greatest influence of this long-serving interest were long distance journeys made to Ayr, Barry and Skegness prior to starting school, on family holidays.
Greater Manchester Transport
- Earliest GMT related memory: boarding the 409 from Hathershaw some time in 1983;
- Favourite bus: the Northern Counties bodied MCW Metrobuses seen on the 400 route from 1986 - 2002 (coach seats and livery) - the epitome of comfort;
- Favourite bus routes: the 343 (1980 - 1986 and present First Manchester route via Lees Road) and the 400 (Trans-Lancs Express);
- Favourite bus termini: Bury Interchange, Rochdale Bus Station and Oldham Town Square (now demolished).
Having used public transport all my life, from the 346 bus to Ashton-under-Lyne to a train to York, hauled by Class 45 Peak, I developed a fascination, with the buses that made the journey. This, I claim was triggered by my Nana's move to Mossley. The result of this were odd journeys on 343 or 344 routes to Mossley, Brookbottom. I fell in love with scenery and the views from the top deck of one of GMT's 700 Leyland Atlanteans.
Another one of my favourite routes of the first ten years of my life was the 409 to Rochdale. A change of school from Yew Tree Primary School to Ewing School in West Didsbury fuelled the obsession more. As well as offering weekly trips out on the minibus, there was the bonus of Ewing School being on the route of the 41, 43 and 44 services - and the odd journey to Manchester using these buses.
This intense interest even extends to various seat moquette designs, and bus stations. The latter interest also traverses past the GMPTE boundary, with renewed interest in the subject extending to designs in West Yorkshire and South Yorkshire. A knock-on effect of this has resulted in me dedicating sketch books of speculative bus and rail interchange designs, based on personal experience of using such termini. The last five years have also seen me gain interest in transport policy itself.
Music
- First album: The Holiday Album (various artistes, CBS 1987);
- Favourite parody records: 'Live in Trouble', The Barron Knights (1978) and 'The Chicken Song', Spitting Image (1986);
- Favourite albums: 'Crime of the Century', Supertramp (1974); 'CSI:Ambleside', Half Man Half Biscuit (2008) and 'Mutation', Donna Williams (2005);
- Most embarrassing addition: 'Hello' by Margarita Pracatan;
- Best gigs: Half Man Half Biscuit (The Academy 1, Manchester, 2009); 10cc (Tameside Hippodrome, 2007) and Roger Hodgson (Palace Theatre, Manchester, 2007).
It had only been in the last few years I had taken music seriously. Until about 1999, I was only content with what was offered on radio stations. Before then, I was more into music trivia than the actual bands or albums themselves (for example: chart positions). I also had a phase in 1996 of listening to the The Pointer Sisters' 'Break Out' album.
Since 1999, my tastes have become more eclectic, listening to anything from The Fall to Black Dyke Brass Band. From that period, I had started getting into the actual albums other than retrospective 'greatest hits' type albums. I also have phases, whereby one year (as I did in 2001), I would scour the planet (as far as Bridlington!) to find Cabaret Voltaire albums. There are only two bands which I had enjoyed listening to from beyond 1999.
The two bands concerned are Supertramp and the Electric Light Orchestra. My first memory of Supertramp was listening to 'It's Raining Again' from the radio of a 409 bus bound for Ashton-under-Lyne, at the age of three. As for ELO, an auntie of mine (who is a big ELO fan herself) played on of their albums on one visit to her house at the age of ten. There I got into the most part of their 'Discovery' album, mainly 'The Diary of Horace Wimp'. This withered away at the end of 1989, but had remanifested again in 2004, and in a big way, thanks to a greatest hits compilation, purchased in Halifax. From there, ELO releases mushroomed, with 'Out of the Blue', 'Eldorado', 'Discovery' et al, entering the collection.
For people wishing to enter the ELO canon, the 2CD compilation 'The Ultimate Collection' is a good starting point. My personal favourite ELO album is 'Out of the Blue', which still sounds fresh, nearly 30 years after release. The best Supertramp albums to start off with are 'Breakfast in America', and the 'Very Best of Supertramp' Volume 1. If you can find it, 'Classics Volume 9' (also sold as 'The Autobiography of Supertramp') is a worthy addition. My personal favourite Supertramp album is 'Crime of the Century'.
My other favourite bands are Half Man Half Biscuit, The Fall, Black Dyke Brass Band and Kraftwerk.
