An old friend - and INXS

I’m meeting up with an old friend tonight and we’re going out for a drink, to catch up and find out how life has been treating us. I last saw Steve Jacklin in 1993, though we corresponded for a year or so after that, when he moved back to the north from Kettering (and went to Uni). I’ve tried to find him since then, as he was an avowed techie back in the day but he found me in the end, through this website, as he doesn’t maintain an on-line presence himself (not even Facebook!).

He is currently working on a project in Leicester and was walking through the town and passed HMV and thought of me. In 1993, INXS launched a worldwide tour called “Get Out Of The House”, playing small venues in smaller cities - the dates were announced well ahead of time, the venues on the day before the gig (and on local radio - the Internet wasn’t about then, certainly not to common plebs like us). All we knew was that they were playing in Leicester on July 13th (it ended up at the DeMontfort Hall) and that the tickets would be sold at the local HMV - no phone booking, you had to go and queue. Alison couldn’t get time off work and other friends were interested in going, so we had a bit of a problem.

Steve had just been made redundant and was at a bit of loose end and when he heard of our situation, he volunteered to come with me - he didn’t particularly like INXS, had no intention of going to the gig, but was more than happy to get up at 4am and come with me. So I took him up on the offer. I’ll never forget rolling up outside his door in darkness and him coming to the car, a sleeping bag wrapped around him (which he sat in, once he was in the car). We got to Leicester in record time (watching the sunrise as we drove) and were 74/75th in the queue. It was a great atmosphere, with plenty of laughing amongst the “70’s” of the queue and the enterprising manager of a nearby McDonalds offered free tea to everyone who was going for a breakfast afterwards.

We got the tickets and the gig was fantastic, easily one of the best I’ve ever been too. Steve moved back home shortly afterwards and, once he’d settled at Uni later in the year, we corresponded for a while. But, as is often the way, life moves on and some things get left behind and that was our addresses, in this case.

But we’re in touch and we’re meeting up tonight and I’m looking forward to it. All I know is that he’s married, has a son and works for himself. All he knows about me comes from this website. It should be a fun evening.