Bare Foot in 1974

1974

In 1974 I was quite a tomboy through hanging around with Peeler and there was someone else on the scene - Scottie. He was my "boyfriend" from age 9 until I was 16. I lived in the south-east, he lived up north, he was one of Peeler's mates, and I only saw him during school holidays really. It was all so innocent in those days. We would go to the pictures, play space invaders in the arcades, go to the beach, swimming, ice skating, listening to records - always in a big group of us including Jake and Peeler

I can't think what he saw in me! I had a hideous sense of dress in the Seventies, but then didn't everyone? I begged and begged for a pair of white patent leather platform boots like Dave Hill's which I wore with hotpants. Now we know, that was not a cool look! I had really long hair down to my waist and around this time I went everywhere bare foot because I thought that's what hippies do! I was just a bit too young for the real "Flower Power" period, but I caught the tail end of it and I wanted to be like Sandie Shaw. The bare feet phase went on all summer ... and then the gravelly tarmac in the road got to me and I just thought "sod it" and started wearing shoes again ... platforms

















My girly school mates were into disco music, The Osmonds, David Cassidy and The Bay City Rollers. OK - I confess to watching "Shang a Lang" on telly and getting caught up with Rollermania but I never was the type of girl who screamed and screamed for a band. Never did! It's not cool! While my friends loved going to school and youth club discos I was never comfortable with it and later I realised why

In 1974 me and Peeler listened to Deep Purple, Hawkwind, Bob Dylan, David Bowie's "Diamond Dogs", The Rolling Stones "It's Only Rock n Roll", Queen, Status Quo, Wizzard's "Are You Ready to Rock", Suzi Quatro's "Devil Gate Drive", The Sweet's "Teenage Rampage", Ralph McTell's "Streets of London", Terry Jacks's "Seasons in the Sun", Lynryd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" and loads more

On the telly in 1974
I watched Top of the Pops, Tiswas, Magpie, Shang a Lang, Man About the House, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Rising Damp, Porridge, Dad's Army, Doctor Who, Are You Being Served? Hawaii Five-O, The Clangers, Roobarb & Custard and The Goodies















Around 1974, I started taping "the Top 20" on a portable cassette player. There was a lot of good music coming through in 1974, much of it I didn't discover until my late teens

I got "Burn" which is still, to this day, one my most favourite albums

















and "Bad Company"
















It was 1974 and I was aged 12 !!