BEGINNING TO SEE THE LIGHT
8
If I’m being completely frank
about my response to recent
events, the death of Lou Reed
was actually the worst thing
about Sunday 27th October
2013.
As Lou changed my life
forever from the very first time I
heard the opening bars of Waiting
for the Man by The Velvet
Underground when I was aged
about 14, I can’t even pretend
that the poisonous, malign
influence of Mike Ashley on
Newcastle United and its
supporters caused me to feel this
way, by effectively downgrading
our defeat to the Mackems to the
status of a minor irritation and no
longer allowing me to regard
such a happenstance as a tragedy
of enormous proportions.
Remember, music never lets you
down; football always does. Let’s
be honest, only Keegan’s
Entertainers or Bobby Robson’s
2001 to 2003 side could come
anywhere near the first four
Velvets albums in terms of sheer,
hairs standing up on the back of
your neck, pleasure. Shola
Ameobi stumbling over the ball
or What Goes On from Live 69?
Cisse being caught offside or
White Light / White Heat? No
contest…
I didn’t see the Mackem
game; in fact, I hadn’t seen a
single Newcastle United fixture
either live or on television, other
than on highlights programmes,
including the Fulham game where
I won a pair of tickets and palmed
them off on my son, at all this
season, before I took myself off
to St. James’ Park for the Man
City cup tie. Don’t get me wrong;
I’m not actually boycotting the
club, as I’d always intended to
make the Stoke City game on
Boxing Day a must attend match,
but I had found so many better
things to do with my time,
including watching 31 Northern
League games up to and
including October 26th. The
vagaries of H