Odd times as we turn and face the strange
I SETTLED down contentedly on the sofa to watch the late, great David Bowie’s superb Glastonbury set from the year 2000 on Sunday evening.
I was lucky enough to have seen The Thin White Duke live a couple of times, most notably when he headlined the opening night at the Phoenix Festival in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1996, part of an incredible feast of music that also included the likes of The Prodigy, Neil Young, Bjork and Massive Attack, all for the princely sum of £65 for four days.
Speaking of ’96, I also managed to squeeze on to Hill 16 in Croke Park that year to see my beloved Wexford crowned All-Ireland hurling champions for the first time in 28 years.
Watching Bowie belt out the classics at Glastonbury, a festival I also had the privilege of attending way back in 1995, it really made me yearn to be part of a heaving, excited crowd, whether it be at a concert or a massive sporting occasion.
This time last year, myself and the family watched Wexford win Minor and Senior Leinster crowns among the hordes in GAA headquarters, but twelve months on we have to be content with Gaelic games re-runs and classic Glastonbury performances.
Of course, there is now light at the end of a once overbearing tunnel, but it may still be quite a while before we can turn the particular corner where tens of thousands can pack into a venue.
Although it was certainly sweet for long-suffering Liverpool fans to end a painful 30-year wait, they must have craved a normality that would have allowed them to roar their ‘Heroes’ on to the field at their next home game and get out in bars and nightclubs and celebrate in style. As Bowie might have said, ‘Let’s Dance’.
The one consolation is that at least they got to do it on the field of play, rather than have an asterisk forever attached to it.
However, let’s be honest, behind closed doors football really is a steaming pile of dung.
No atmosphere, no sense of occasion, and no real joy. Just professionals getting the job done and that’s exactly what Liverpool have impressively achieved during a groundbreaking season.
They may have been ‘Under Pressure’ to perform, but fair play to Klopp and co. for realising their dream of bringing the Premier League title back to Anfield, particularly after what transpired last year.
To play so well and still get pipped at the post could have ripped the heart and soul out of lesser men, but it seems to have galvanised them and they look like they’re going to be a force for many seasons to come and are in the midst of ‘Golden Years’ for the club.
There was also muted celebrations for yours truly in recent times as my own team of choice across the water, Swindon Town, were crowned League Two champions, and they were presented with the trophy during the week.
Although I was obviously delighted, asterisk and all, how different it could have been.
I was planning on bringing the young lad over to see ‘Starman’ Eoin Doyle banging in a few goals when the season was reaching its climax, even though he’s definitely not going to follow in his father’s footsteps as a Robins fan.
He’ll just have to wait to see the Ginger Pele in the flesh. Our time will come.
Twenty years ago the inimitable David Bowie ended his Glastonbury gig with ‘I’m Afraid of Americans’ and, given the sorry state of that country at present, who could blame him?
The world has really gone to shite since the man who brought us Ziggy Stardust passed to eternal reward early in 2016.
We’ve had to endure Trump, Brexit, Boris Johnson, Covid-19 and so much more.
Maybe the great man bowed out and exited stage left at exactly the right time. If there is ‘Life on Mars’ it might be a far better bet than what planet earth has to offer us at the moment.
However, despite all of the faults with the world, once live sport and music are back on the scene, things will become a hell of a lot more bearable.
The present is certainly a stark reminder of what we’ve been missing out on and, after a difficult few months, we could all do with a few ‘Ch-ch-changes’.