Chapter 4: The bike sheds

May 1997 - Sept 2000

We arrived back in the UK around May 1997, as it was a slightly odd time of year with school terms and stuff, I remember going into the college where my folks had planned for me to go next - this was Havant College. We had a chat about the schooling I’d just left behind in America and the UK system with GCSE and A-levels. I basically had no GCSEs, but wanted to start A-levels. I also had a vague idea this time that I was destined to be a teacher, so it was suggested that as part of any future-teacher-training programme, I’d need a minimum of 5 GCSEs.

For some reason they said I could come back in within a couple of weeks and just sit the GCSE French exam, which I did and managed to get an A*. So that was one down, but for the rest I would begin in September 1997, but over 3 years I’d be doing a combination of 3x A-levels and 4x GCSEs.

So whilst I was waiting for the first college year to start, I can remember heading to the small city of Chichester. It was here that I got my first proper paid job in a Waitrose Supermarket. And it wasn’t all that bad for a first job. They trained the staff well, and there was plenty of variety whilst I was there. I started on the fresh & ready meals area - armed with reducing stickers for later in the day, then I did frozen food, dairy and also got till-trained. Mrs Bouquet (Patricia Routledge) used to come into this Waitrose, which always seemed to amuse the staff. There was a popular theatre in town - and a few actor celebrities I assume connected to this or just living in the area, used to regularly shop in Waitrose. I can remember seeing Rodney from Only Fools and Horses, and Hugh Dennis the comedian regularly too.

Waitrose, me in Homebase and CDs from MVC in Chichester

The main event I can remember around that time was in the middle of summer, I was sitting in the Waitrose staff cafe on a break one day, and the news came through that Princess Diana had died. It’s one of those moments I guess where a lot of us can remember where we were at the time.

At some point during 1997 I think I also had decided to test my idea for teaching, so volunteered at the local primary school right near my house, and did a day of work-experience there with 7-8 year olds. I also did another day at my younger brother’s school, where I helped a 5yr olds’ reception class out. After this I decided for now that these age groups were not right for me, and if I ever did try teaching again, it would need to be with much older students.

During the summer I can remember browsing in MVC one day, and seeing a listening post. They had new albums out by Massive Attack and Radiohead - both I hadn’t really heard of before, but after listening and having just been paid from Waitrose, I decided to buy both their albums. From then on, these were bands I’ve always liked, Radiohead in particular are still one of my favourites - and I really liked their artwork too.

September finally came around, and I was off to Havant College for the next three years. I started year one doing English & Maths GCSE, then English & Chemistry A-levels. Chemistry however turned out to be tougher than I thought, so I soon dropped this and started French instead. In years 2-3 I also began Art A-level, Biology & Music GCSE.

I was walking out of the campus one day - only a few days into college life, to catch the bus home, and a guy ahead of me called Seb from my Chemistry class stopped, turned around and said “So, do you wanna go to the pub?”. I said “er… sure!” and off we went! He always wore a black leather jacket, and had dark stubble so I thought he looked old enough, but I was still a skinny pale kid with barely any facial hair, so our tactic was for me to sit in the beer garden whilst he did the drinks ordering. It worked like that for many years to come, until I had my proper ID at 18. Even after that I still got asked to check ID well into my twenties.

Old House At Home, Havant & Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

Together we slowly drifted towards where the cool kids were hanging out. Seb liked to make ‘rollie’ cigarettes, which meant heading out to the bike sheds. It’s here that we started building our network of friends and where all the social organising was happening - field parties, house parties (when parents were away) and other mishaps. There were also bands forming at college too, and we’d often go along to support their live shows at certain pub venues around Portsmouth.
I was generally seeing a lot more live music by this point, the first band I remember seeing was ‘A’ at The Wedgwood rooms - a really small and sweaty, but well-established music venue in Portsmouth. I’d go on to see so many bands here during my college years including The Hives & Headswim. Another early show with new friends was Feeder + Everclear at the Portsmouth Pyramids. This was a slightly bigger venue, and where I bought a knock-off t-shirt outside made from thin black tights! It was so thin I remember it stretching & falling apart pretty quick. I have memories of heading home one night somewhere near Havant by train, and nearly getting beaten up as I got off at the station by some drunk guys just for wearing a band t-shirt - I can’t remember there being any other reason they went for me other than an being an easy target. Lucky for me, some girls I was travelling with somehow managed to bundle me into a waiting parent’s car, so I avoided most of the punches.

After this it was time to buy some new clothes - I soon started getting obsessed with the local charity shops - and used to buy lots of tatty old cardigans, and shirts - as well as visiting vintage shops to get my shirts, flares, cargo shorts and hats. I was inspired by either the bike shed kids or live bands and the musician fashion I was seeing in Kerrang!

Kerrang! magazine 1998-1999

From then on it was music festivals - I attended my first Reading Festival aged 16, a big group of us all travelled there by train with our tents - it was great! We had a great time and it was always hot summer days & nights, but I can remember with it being pre-mobile phone times, I would often lose people in the big crowds, only to catch up later back at the campsite. We’d have huge food fights, or go tent-running at night - basically drunkenly running around to see who would trip first over the ropes. It was carnage but at that age, there was no where you’d rather be.
We carried on going back to Reading every summer after that, I think in all I’ve attended 5-6 times in total. I used to keep the wristbands on afterwards as long as I could - the Reading bands were not particularly nice, like plastic cattle tags with a metal clip, it wasn’t easy showering with those things on but it was a youth statement I felt I had to show off!

At 17 I was seeking more independence, and so driving lessons started straight away. With a bit of luck I managed to pass first time, and this allowed me to venture further afield with friends to the beach, cinema trips, and more gigs further afield including London! It also meant I could get myself back & forth to my part-time jobs more easily. Another place I loved visiting during this time was Brighton! I used to hunt the lanes out for their amazing vintage clothes stores, and found so many of my favourite clothes down there. It was also such a great place to hang out, and I regularly visited.

I had another part-time job once I was at college - this time at Homebase (DIY home improvements store). Another thing that happened when I was around 18 towards the end of college year 2, I got chatting one day to a guy at Homebase who was also into his music, and we decided to start a band. I couldn’t play anything, so I said I would try singing. My work colleague was the guitarist, and we roped in my brother Al on drums and his friend Joe on bass. We just named ourselves by the first letters of our first names - and MAJJ was born! We just started off doing covers of Feeder, Nirvana and Rage Against The Machine - but soon made up our own songs which followed the formulas of these bands. We did a few shows including a battle of the bands at Havant College. I won best vocalist somehow, but I know my Art teacher was on the judging panel, so maybe that helped! We didn’t last too long anyway, it was all over in six months, but the main goal for me was achieved when I got my first proper girlfriend!

This was also for me good timing, as the majority of my friends from college left after two years, however I was continuing for a third year in order to finish my mad GCSE/A-level combo. I was now getting more heavily into painting too - after a foundation-type year one of trying out linocut print-making, charcoal life-drawing.

My artist projects became quite personal, and I was settling into painting on large canvases that told a story. For example, I would head off, taking photos in local farm fields of pigs up close & personal - including climbing into their pigstyes.

I dedicated another project to a pet cat that died - depicting said cat & scenery around near where he died including a gas tower. And finally, using photos I took from down the seafront at Emsworth, my final piece was of the colourful fishing boats & nets.

Fishing Boats, 2000, Havant College A-level art

I remember it being a pretty fun final year at college. I was also starting to find my feet in terms of a style of painting where I combined a few different picture ideas into one - something I’m still doing today.

After finishing at college - and with the exam results in, I had to choose which University I wanted to go to. Because of one particular Uni’s flexibility to allow me to do an Art + English degree, I chose Reading! It was also on my list almost as a joke because of Reading Festival, but that’s where I’d decided was right for me.

Straight away, once I arrived at my halls in Reading, I was quickly off making new friends and enjoying myself, however the situation with my girlfriend back in Chichester was still on and off for a little while. She visited me once, but then after that, things fizzled out, as I began to adapt to the next chapter…