Back in the early 1970's (think my Xmas 1973 Christmas Present)I used to have one of those little portable Record Players ( might have been made by Fidelity?)perfect for moving around the house - Bedroom, Kitchen lounge etc.Not probably in hindsight the greatest sounding record player but to me it was everything in the world as it allowed me to pour over my favourite albums and live breath and sleep em all.£2.25 for an album was expensive so we didn't own many records in those days but the ones we did we played em to death and knew every nook and cranny of our cherished record collections! I'll never forget the first time I played Psychomodo..you know what it was like playing a new recording of a fav band.It was a ritual,pouring over the album sleeve and only listening to the album when there was total peace in the house,nil distractions was 100% priority.The Psychomodo having been purchased on a Saturday afternoon didn't grace the young teenagers turntable until late Saturday evening..when all was calm and the house was empty!Lyrics had been poured over in the afternoon but when it came to first play it was just headphones and the music.For the next 30 or so minutes music entered my world like I'd never heard before and the feel and the mood of such an amazing experience only came to a halt when the record had to be turned over to side 2 and when Cavaliers started I was off again into another world.And shortly after came the moment...i'd lost track of time and reality and Sling it! I thought brought the album to a wonderful stunning end.All these years later I can remember taking the headphones off and making the move over the record player to take the stylus off the record when suddenly just as I was about to do it..came those immortal words " Gee but it's hard when one lowers one's guard to the vultures!"..it really knocked me back.It was so simple and so stunning and a moment i'll never forget.Check out the album, the gap between Sling it! and Tumbling Down is an age, but it really works.And every time i hear the end of Sling It! I can see the 14 year old about to be enthralled by the magic of Tumbling Down! and that's about to happen again very shortly...
Would love to hear other fans stories re Menagerie and Psychomodo as the countdown begins....

BRILLIANT
and I thought nothing would make me smile, more than Ive been smiling over the week end.
excellent Mr Griffin.
I know ya Ive been ya

I remember getting a very strange look from my Mam when i was singing along.

" Masturbation, getting off..."

Debs..Thanks for the kind words.Sounds like you had a great trip with Wout last weekend,a nice taster for the big show!So pleased everything ok after your little incident.Take care, see you in Brum!

This was my memory of Psychomodo - taken from a very early thread on this site.

'Back in 74 I went with one of my mates (Dave Baker) to buy what I thought was going to be 'Band on the Run'. Once in HMV Dave picked up Psychomodo and despite my protests he insisted on buying it, instead of the aforementioned Wings Album.
I had never heard of Cockney Rebel, despite Dave trying to convince me otherwise by humming the tune to Mr Soft all the way home. I wasn't impressed, since 'Band on the Run' had to be better than this Cockney whatever.
However, once home and the album on my record deck, it was quickly apparent that Dave Baker had taste. The LP was played repeatedly for about 5 hours (especially Ritz, which was just mesmerizing). As a 13 year this was the best music I had ever heard. I was totally hooked and have been eversince.

It seems like yesterday, that I can still remember the screams of dismay from my mum when I felt tipped the word 'Psychomodo' on the back of my brand new Wrangler jacket. Oh to be 13 again!

I quickly brought my own copy of Psychomodo and then Human Menagerie, which if possible, was even better. Even today, HM remains my favourite LP of all time and although my wife says it is inappropriate, I long for 'deathtrip' to be played at my funeral. Not that I'm dying but can you think of a more majestic song to go out to.
Mind you the wife will no doubt have the final say, as she did when vetoing my wish to call one of our kids 'Sebastian' as and when they were born. Calling them Emma and Lucy instead!

Cockney Rebel songs have seemingly become integrated with my life. I even once finished with a girlfriend by putting the receiver of the phone to the speaker, as the words 'I said get lost, disappear, get out of my life' (mad mad moonlight live) blasted out.

Sadly Dave Baker died a few years ago. The day after his death, I saw SH and Cockney Rebel in Leamington Spa, which in itself was poignant enough. However when they played Ritz (the first time I can ever remember them doing so in the many concerts I've seen), I can honestly say it brought a tear or two to my eyes.

Having had the music of SH & Cockney Rebel in my life for so long, it seems that every song evokes some sort of memory of days long gone.'

Wonderful memories, thanks for sharing them. The sentiments will be shared by many of the readers of this forum, as we all have our own similar, personal experiences.

I came to SHCR a little late . . . Timeless Flight was my first experience, which is probably why it has remained the closest to my heart. Very soon after that I 'borrowed' The Human Menagerie and The Psychomodo, both on cassette tape, from my older Brother's collection (and I still have them!).

Going from the mellow tones of Timeless Flight into the superb chaos of The Psychomodo . . . well, it blew me away as you can imagine. I hadn't heard anything like it before, or since. I now have 100's of albums I love, but I don't think anything quite had the impact of those first two Rebel albums (well, maybe Kate Bush in '79 - she ruined my O levels!). Kate and 'Cavaliers' certainly helped get my through my teenage angst!!!

Now we can, in a way, be teenagers again on Saturday night. But more than that, we can still get a buzz from wonderful music we fell in love with almost 40 years ago. That's pretty special, and I think we're lucky to be in that position. Seize the moment, and enjoy every note.