Thursday, March 24, 2005

Now That's What I Call Music II

1996: Dodgy, Free Peace Sweet.





Everyone remembers Good Enough. It was one of the sounds of the summer of 1996. That summer was simply gorgeous. Good weather and it seemed to stretch for an eternity. It was, in some ways, the last summer of my childhood. I had just completed my GCSE’s and was awaiting the start of Sixth Form. A 10-week (yes 10 – count ‘em) break with NOTHING to do! I didn’t have a job so I loafed. Cycled everywhere, read a lot and filmed dumb movies with my childhood best friend. Visited Alton Towers and got mildly drunk at a number of barbecues. It was also the year of my first ever DJ gig.

I remember watching Top Of The Pops (or TOTP as it was then) and being blown away by Dodgy’s performance of In A Room. I remember their earlier hit Stayin’ Out For The Summer but this sounded different. I bought the single but it wasn’t In A Room that got played and played – it was the B-Side, Self Doubt - a great sing-a-long song with a big bold sound. To this day to me that is the song I prefer to Good Enough. My dad bought me Free, Peace Sweet and it didn’t leave my CD player for months. The haunting ballads of If You’re Thinking Of Me. The great sound of UKRip and One of Those Rivers. I bought Dodgy back catalogue and while those CDs received a lot of attention it was always FPS that would be first choice. Sadly Dodgy disappeared. There was brief return with 2001’s self-funded ‘Real Estate’ which was a joy to listen to but didn’t capture me in the same way as FPS. To this day I rank Dodgy as a favourite band alongside Queen but I long for new material. Material I worry may never appear.

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