Let's Dance....

While travelling to work today a certain song came on my mp3 player that reminded me of an under 18's disco that I used to go to back in the day. Back in the early 80's a group of us used to go each week usually dressed in the fashion of the day. At the start of the 80's we would go with our pork pie hats, sta-prest trousers, skinny ties et al thinking we were the coolest kids on the planet - and considering we were not even teenagers at the time I suppose we were quite cool in a strange sort of way. Then we discovered Adam Ant replica jackets in the Virgin Megastore in Union Street and all of a sudden we had white stripes across our collective faces and thought we were Prince Charming.

Now this was for its time a cool place to hang out. We were too young to be properly interested in girls, we were far too young to even think of drink so we settled for dancing instead. There was a weekly dancing competion to find the best dancers and there was a prize. Early 80' there was a fair amount of good music in the charts so every week we would get a chance to dance to the likes of The Jam, The Specials, Madness, Sheena Easton (!!!) and many more. Each week I would dance my socks off to try and impress the DJ hoping that one week I would win one of those much sought after prizes. I use the term "dance" in the loosest possible way as one of the constants in my life is an ability to throw myself about a dancefloor thinking that others are saying "what a great dancer he is" when in fact they are trying to get out my way and saying "doesn't get out too much that one." Usually after I have connected accidentally with my flailing arms and the side of their heads. I still think my best dancing days were in the mid 80's once I had discovered Morrissey. The best I can say is that I enjoy myself on the dancefloor and that's what its all about surely.

 

Anyway one week I eventually won the competition - more through pity I think - and was awarded three 7" singles, two of which I can't remember and the third I still have to this day, Ian Dury's "What A Waste" and this was the song I won the competition with.....

Not admittedly the easiest song to dance to but towards the end of the song it does get a bit manic and you can launch yourself about quite a bit so I have a sneaky feeling that the DJ awarded me the prize to avoid certain injury to either myself or anyone within a few metres of me that night....