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TEENAGE WASTELAND IN THE VALLEY Mark Cunningham recalls the day his hearing took a turn for the worse.
O
ne of my school friends was called Alistair. He
after school; Nan adored his constantly smiling, angelic
was a short, upbeat and quite unusual Geordie
face while Grandad praised his impeccable manners.
boy who wore a Brylcreemed barnet and a
Alistair wasn’t the sort of lad one would readily associate
gabardine coat that would have been the height of fashion
with rock’n’roll but he had somehow forged a link with the
in the ‘50s but was now strikingly out of sync with the times.
Curbishleys, the famous music business and football family
I sometimes took him with me to my grandparents’ house
who originated from Canning Town and Plaistow in east London. Alan Curbishley, an ex-pupil at our school, Trinity, had recently signed up as a West Ham United player, while brother Bill was The Who’s manager. This not inconsiderable piece of trivia emerged when Alistair asked if I’d like to help him make some badges in a house off the Barking Road, one afternoon. It seemed a little odd but I went along with him all the same, especially as there was the promise of a few quid, not to mention a portion of fish’n’chips. I soon learned that the badges were to be part of The Who’s merchandise at some forthcoming concerts.
03.2017
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