They released an album in 2005, back when

I had just moved into one of the first of many

dives. They’d finally 'arrived' of course; I sat

in on a few rehearsals and got involved in the

 

bottles of scrumpy cider and some lines we

snorted off the tops of speakers. They’d

just got back from London that week, had been

recording with the guy who engineered

 

‘Definitely Maybe’, and had had a feature in

the NME. The hangers-on were on them

like flies, and in retrospect, so was I, I suppose.

Back then, I’d try to write anything that

 

might lead to getting paid, even though it

usually didn’t. Years later, older but none

the wiser, I bump into the drummer, digging

some holes in the first step to laying a patio.

 

We have a chat and a fag, and after taking

a drag he says, “Best years of my life that,

we travelled the world and had a laugh, but

shit like that doesn’t really last. And in

 

a way I’m glad it’s over, do you know what

I mean?” I smile, and pretend to agree.

I have to. I can’t admit that something could

be over, when it never really started for me.