My First Music Memory

Music. In many ways, is as much a part of my life as breathing. I love music, I love going to see my music live. I love listening to my old favourites and some new discoveries.

I love playing music through my amp back at home. I'm not sure my mum appreciates the latter contribution but what can I do, this is her fault anyway.

I don't really get a lot of musical influence from my mum apart from a few weird singles such as the Worzel Gummidge song and Neil from the young ones’ hole in my shoe. But she did start off my love for music initially.

It must have been around 1998-1999 the pre-sister years. At this time, my mum worked for an independent card shop where she would create and produce hundreds and hundreds of handmade, personalised cards. She made these while I was sat in front of the tv or having a nap presumably because at this time I was only around 2-3 and she did this to make some money while looking after me. And when she had completed a few boxes of the cards, we would pack up the boot of her blue Rover Kensington and head to a small town not far from Wrexham (where I live) called Mold.

Mold wasn’t really anything to brag about, it was a nice little town with shops on both sides of the street. Mold boasts that Jonny Buckland from Coldplay grew up there which if you said that to me in my teens I would not care a bit. But now, I'm a Coldplay megafan so to think he walked the streets where I've been is very cool indeed!

Once mum had dropped off her cards to the distributor, we wouldn't go home straight away but instead, we would take a short walk down the street, and turn the corner onto what seemed a street that was always sunny, I can always remember it being sunny there.

I can't remember what the place was called but it was a little cafe/tea room where everything inside matched the colours and details of a china cup with the white and blue floral design. That was already very striking to me as a child. I can remember the smell as if it was yesterday, and they always had a small pot of sugar cubes which fascinated me because it meant I had something to play with while mum was having her tea probably.

Now I really don't know if this song ever played there but it's really intertwined with one another. I can't think of Mold without thinking of the song/band and I can't listen to the band without thinking of Mold tea rooms but my earliest memory was The Beautiful South.

The Beautiful South was a small, insignificant part of my childhood but this has transformed my listening tastes. I'm not a huge fan of modern genres of music, I like good songs with good lyrics and a great tune when I was discovering ‘my band’ I oriented toward The Beatles first and from that grew to like The Kinks and the beach boys and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, that style of music suits very well with me.

The beautiful south to me was a mix of great vocals and a happy tune. Perfect 10 is a lovely tune and I love Rotterdam. The song of theirs that I remember most is You Keep it All In.

This song also takes me to 2017 too, I bonded with a work friend over it, we would break out into songs while cooking in a hot cafe kitchen and it was really great fun in the summer just having a sing with your co-worker.

A small claim to fame on my part is that in the same workplace, I worked with the Julie from ‘song for whoever’ by none other than the beautiful south!

I think it’s incredible that I have a few strong Early Music Memories in my life and The Beautiful South has been there for some of them.

To sum up my first music memory would be the happiness, sunshine and the smell of a coffee shop. fantastic.

My First Music Memory

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I’ve had many musical experiences. The first gig I ever went to was with my family and uncle's family to go and watch the ‘noise and confusion’ tour in Cardiff in 2006.

The headliners were Razor light, oasis, and foo fighters. This influenced me massively as seeing the kind of influence these bands had on a crowd was huge for my creative development 

However, the memory that sticks out in my mind is being in the car with my dad and brother and listening to the Stereophonics album ‘pull the pin’. We would listen to the whole album in its entirety, and I would ask my dad what certain songs would mean.

There is a song on that album called ‘daisy lane’ which is a very slow and melancholic tune which taught me that if you’re going to make an album you need a slower song to allow the listener to sit back and critically think about the tone and meaning of a song and the album itself.

The second song which sticks out in my mind is ‘bank holiday Monday’, which is an upbeat, loud rock song that I could really see people dancing to at gigs.

I feel as though these experiences really influenced my taste for good melodies, dance songs but also slower songs that make you feel something.

Listening to this music and going to that gig allowed me to appreciate festivals and gigs more when I went to live music events throughout my teenage years.

My First Music Memory

I can always remember listening to music. Whatever was on the radio was what I enjoyed listening to.

My earliest favourite song I can remember is "Move your Feet" by Junior Senior.

I loved that song so much that my brother went out and bought the single-disc from Woolworths at the time.

After that point the song was always on, any possible time I could play it, I would.

It is still on my playlist to this day just so every time I listen to it I can remember being a child and loving the song as much as I did when I was younger.

As I grew up I became more interested in rock and metal music rather than pop. I love bands such as Parkway Drive, Avenged Sevenfold, Crown the Empire, and Linkin Park.

I do still like pop music but I steer towards liking artists that go against the norm of pop such as Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, and 5 seconds of summer.

My First Music Memory

Music is a big part of any person’s life and I personally connect each song or singer with a specific time of my life, or with a specific situation, or even a person.

I do not play any musical instrument or sing, but I cannot imagine a day without listening to the music that I like. 

I used to be the child that could not stop moving! I always used to be a happy child and I was dancing over every song that was playing on TV or radio.

When I was in primary school, my sister used to have an iPod and we were always playing our own ‘’game’’, we would surprise each other with a song and one of us had to guess the title and the singer.

When I grew up a little bit, I remember that my mum let me use the computer to play some games.

My favourite part of using the computer was that I could visit YouTube and discover new songs of the singers that I used to like.

I was a big fan of Bruno Mars, in all of my childhood years! So, I was always learning the lyrics of all his songs and singing them alone in my room.

I was so obsessed with him and his songs and Watched his video clips for hours! I still hear some songs of Bruno Mars and I always feel that nostalgic feeling of the childhood years and it is something that makes me happy. 

I also, used to listen to Avril Lavigne and Miley Cyrus.

To be honest, Miley Cyrus was my favorite between the two of them, I was looking up to her, she was my idol. Of course, I’ve watched every single movie of Miley Cyrus, and my forever favourite was ‘’The Last Song’’, where she sings the song ‘’when I look at you’’ which I like soo much!

Lockdown has allowed me time to watch again this movie and it really made me cry, I just love Miley and her songs.

However, when I went to high school, whenever I was sad, I listened to Lana Del Ray songs, so I always relate Lana with sadness. And you know, in high school, is the time that you are growing up and more things can make you feel sad, in comparison to the childhood years, so Lana Del Ray was my favourite in that period!

But whenever I was happy, I used to listen to Rihanna, Akon, Jay Sean, Chris Brown and many old school R’n’b songs, which I still love to listen to.

I really like all the singers that I have mentioned, but as I was growing up, my favourite style of music is Greek music.

I have always listened to Greek music, artists like Nikos Oikonomopoulos, Nikos Vertis, George Sambanis and many other Greek artists, especially this period that I am in Cardiff and far from my home.

Greek songs make me feel like I’m home and it makes me feel happier!

If you have never heard of any type of Greek music you should take a listen to some of the artists I have Mentioned, perhaps they will make you feel happy too!

My First Music Memory

It was early Summer, 1972 and it must have been towards the end of my of my first year at Glantaf High School.  All of the pupils assembled for the end of year ‘School Concert’ in the main hall. 

I don’t remember any performance content, accept for one act on the bill. I don’t even remember the name of the act but I remember what a seminal moment it was for me.

As the curtains drew back, there, on stage was the first live band I had ever witnessed, remembered fondly, as the ‘school band’. We were, somewhat predictably, talking  ‘guitar, vocals, bass and (above all) in this case, drums.

I believe the drummer was from Gabalfa, or Llandaff North, and his name was Colin Ellaway.  Colin was slight of build and had fair hair.  To me, he was an awesome drummer, especially as he was the first one I’d seen live!

I’d guess that he was the star turn, as the band played songs that highlighted drumming. One of the tracks I remember them playing was Cozy Powell’s ‘Dance with the Devil’.  

However, it wasn’t that one that provoked my life-long obsession with music, it was a song that followed, later in the set. I jumped to me feet, shouted, cheered and probably screamed! ‘Sit down Johnson’, cried the teacher, to my left.  I was embarrassed but obliged.  ‘Yes, sir’. So what was the name of the pivotal act that initiated my love of music?  Well, this act had many hits but for obvious reasons, you never hear them on the radio these days.

It was The Glitter Band and the song was  ‘Rock And Roll, Parts 1 and 2’.  Since that day, I’ve spent a fortune on guitars, amps, PA systems and effects and been in a good number of bands.  That first school concert changed my life…

My First Music Memory

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The influences of others can have a big effect on our musical path through life.
listening to The Beatles with my Mum was inspirational to me as a small boy.

My Mum Mavis Plays a Tune

We had the records and I in particular, played them to death on a tin pot radiogram, this was before getting my very own ‘portable’ record player.

Whether it be friends or family, these early influences can be both a breath of fresh air or a burden.
Getting back to my dear old Mum, now sadly gone, her love of music almost lead to a split from my father and in doing so, no me.

It all came about when my Mum bought herself a ticket for Bill Haley, who was on his first tour of the UK and who had got the kids jumping with this new found racket called Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Bill Haley

Not being a fan, my father and her husband to be, demanded that she not go, something she brought up at regular times when we discussed music.

Not that she bore a grudge, but was forever sad that she never rebelled and went with her mates. My Dad could be funny like that. Had it been Elvis, who never toured the UK, I doubt I’d exist now as I couldn’t see her backing away from that gig.

Another of my earliest memories was playing constantly ‘Heartbreak Hotel‘ at full volume until the plug was pulled, along with hits by The Beatles, Dave Clark Five and, when much younger Lonnie Donegan’s ‘My Old Man’s a Dustman, it must have driven the old man nuts.

These records that my Mum had bought certainly kick-started a love of music with me pushing aside my Pinky and Perky multi-track EP on shocking pink vinyl, never to be listened to ever again.

Whilst Rock ‘n’Rock never made any impression on my father, he did have a soft spot for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and when he did venture near the record player without kicking it or turning it off, he’d been known to play their hits and records that I very much liked myself.

Not such a happy memory was being sent into town to buy him ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ which he had heard in the cinema whilst working away and that featured prominently in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Strolling into Buffalo Records, Cardiff, with my head barely reaching above the counter, I asked for the record, the title of which I had repeated parrot-fashion on the bus, just so that I wouldn’t forget the title and incur his wrath.

I paid my money and headed off to the bus station feeling very pleased with myself, certain in the knowledge that delivery would be met by a bar of chocolate, no problem.

What neither my Dad or me realised was that the film version of the song was by B. J. Thomas. Sadly, gripped tightly in my small brown paper bag was a version by French heartthrob Sasha Distel. Not best pleased with the result there was no celebratory chocolate, though he did come to enjoy the version by Slasha.

Having a older brother, his record collection, though quite eclectic, served to provide much inspiration, most notably his records by Al Green and the excellent Motown Chartbusters.

Less than inspiring was Bread’s Greatest Hits and Rick Wakeman’s Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, though both sold by the truckload.

For every unmentionable album in the rack there was a gem like Hunky Dory or Bridge Over Troubled Water and so my education continued.

Of course friends can provide the best albums to check out. I remember hearing The Clash for the first time on the shittiest of cassette recorders.

The recording I believe was taken direct from the radio, The John Peel Show. Even allowing for the awful recording I was gripped, just as I was when a good mate played me Joni Mitchell’s Court And Spark for the first time.

Moments like these still remain to this day, where the hairs on the back of your neck signal something new and exciting.

I’ve tried where possible to guide and influence others, most notably when my sister asked my go with her to town as she wanted to buy ‘Mother Of Mine’ by Opportunity Knocks winner Neil Reid.

We came back with a bit of a result as I convinced and cajoled her into buying Ringo’s ‘Back Of Boogaloo’ and ‘The Witch Queen Of New Orleans’ by Redbone, both from the bargain bin.

I think she grew to like them both, eventually.

My First Music Memory

At home, we’d always have music on, and my taste now has greatly been influenced by my dad’s music, which is a mix of 80s with elements of pop-punk and all-around upbeat songs.

However, my earliest memories around music are definitely to do with musicals, especially the Disney Channel Originals.

My dad being the person to introduce my younger sister and me to these.

My memory isn’t the best and is foggy so I will be looking back on a couple of small memories I have from around this time.

One of the first memories was of a High School Musical 2 toy, It was a small, grey, plastic phone filled with a selection of the songs from the film.

The songs themselves were separate from the ‘phone’, each song was on a clear piece of plastic that had the character who sang the song on, the easiest way to remember what song each piece of plastic played.

As this was only a kid’s toy, it wasn’t full tracks only snippets of certain songs.

I vividly remember traveling down to Newport on the bus and sticking in my earphones and listening to ‘Bet on it’ on repeat for the 30-minute journey.

Unfortunately, little me was heartbroken when I dropped it in the bathtub and it broke, to this day I miss that little piece of plastic.

The second memory is a short one however I doubt I’ll ever be able to forget this one as it was recorded on my mum’s phone.

My younger sister and I shared a room which meant that I had access to her cd player and cd collection.

One of my personal favourites to borrow was the Camp Rock 2 soundtrack.

Facing the window, I would perform the song, with the correct choreography, to the ‘audience’, the teddies that were on the window sill and outside.

I can see the one specific time vividly, I was dancing and singing along to ‘Brand new day’ from the soundtrack and my entire room was a mess.

As I was facing the window,my back was to the door and I didn’t realize my mum had come in and recorded the whole thing.

I was so embarrassed but to this day I dance around my university room and dance and sing to musicals.

Since then my love for musicals has grown and even sparked my interest in Drama, later taking it for GCSEs.

These kid movies hold a special place in my heart and whenever I go back to re-watch them or listen to the soundtracks, I’m left with a feeling of nostalgia and they always manage to brighten my day.

Katherine Witts

My First Music Memory

The music that my parents used to listen to on the radio is still played at home.

It is music from the 70s, 80s and 90s.

Besides that, they also loved listening to the traditional Fado music, music from Portugal and Lisbon, my home city. 

Famous music like “Dancing Queen” by Abba (one of my mother’s favourite), “Ain’t no Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and the legendary “Baker Street” by Gerry Raferty has been present through my life growing up.

Fado was listened mainly on the weekends especially at my grandparent’s house as they lived in a typical Lisbon bairro (Portuguese name for a small neighbourhood). 

I always heard my grandparents old neighbour singing through the window while I was playing outside. 

He was a retired mechanic and was always playing Fado music especially those from the bogged legends of Fado, Amalia Rodrigues and Carlos do Carmo.

My first memory of someone singing to me was my mother, before putting me in to bed she always sang the music "Na Cabana Junto a Praia" sung by José Cid, it is a lyric that I personally love, not only because it touches on a memory when I was a child, but it is a lyric of love and has a melody that is very romantic and moving.

I remember my mother after having had an operation on her vocal cords a few years ago, trying to sing this song and feeling disappointed and sad with herself because singing was something she had always loved and after the operation it was no longer the same voice, but as I always told her and I always say, her voice marked my childhood, and influenced me a lot in my life, because without music I can't work, and that's thanks to my mum and dad that every time we cooked we had music playing and every time we sang and danced.

These are memories that during this pandemic we will not be able to repeat again, but it is moments like these that make us who we are daily, and that offer us a better way of living.

The pandemic brought a lot of bad things to our mental health but personally made me reflect with life, moments that we always took for granted and now we can't have them, the pandemic made me realize that we have to live every moment as if it was the last, whether it is music, family or school.

Life during this last year has turned around, Everything that we programmed and dreamed of was destroyed or postponed, teaching us to accept a “No” and to understand that we have to be stronger and improve our lives.

We Have learned to remember things that we miss and dreams that were not realized.

I can say that this pandemic made me stronger, and taught me not to give up.

The music was a help and inspiration to me during the Lockdown.

Francisco Diońisio