Thursday 1 March 2012

THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Prince - 'Sign 'O' The Times'

Thursday I'm in Love...a chance for me to share some of my Diamonds and Pearls!!



Prince - 'Sign 'O' the Times' (1987)

My wife and I recently treated ourselves to a night away, a rare foray into the adult world (that sounds seedier than it actually is). What I meant is a night to spend some quality time together, a few drinks, a nice meal, a stroll and the prospect of a long lie, oh my god a long lie! Away from the daily demands of work and our toddler's routine 0530 wake up call.

Not Florence, Paris or Barcelona but lovely Windsor, Windsor is dear to our hearts as it's where we used to hang out as a couple and where we eventually got married (The Guildhall if you're asking, a couple of queens got married there so if it's good enough for David and Elton, it was good enough for us!). It's just a 20 minute drive from where we live now and a lot cheaper, especially when I treat my wife to a romantic night in the Travelodge. It was all good though, as instead of the usual view overlooking the bins we had a panoramic view of the area, parts of Windsor Castle, Eton College but more importantly Slough trading estate. Important for sentimental reasons as we lived in Slough for about 6 years, well I say Slough, I probably like to think of it more North Eton myself, as we could walk to Windsor in about 15 mins.

It was lovely, the sun was shining, the queen was in, we were retracing our old haunts and we stopped to have a boozy lunch by the river, perfect. Walking it off later, we came across a modern bronze statue of a soldier which was an Irish Guards memorial. Particularly sobering, especially after lunch, as I have never come across one like it, more used to ones from WW1 or WW2. I instantly thought of Prince's (apt considering our location) 'Sign 'O' the Times'. Whether you agree or not with the government's foreign policy in Iraq or Afghanistan, it's the brave men and women of the armed forces that do the dirty work for them. It's a solemn realisation that after 13 years we are still a nation at war, a fact which is often overlooked. A sign of the times I guess.

Hmmmm...U got the look??
I love Prince, particularly his earlier stuff and could prob dedicate an entire blog to his music but push come to shove my favourite is prob 'Sign 'O' the Times'. A wonderfully simple song with it's distinctive bassline and an incredibly powerful video, it is as relevant now as it was then. Replace the 80's fear of Aids and nuclear war, the Challenger disaster and hurricanes with Swine Flu, global terrorism, Columbia disaster and Katrina and you get the parallels.

Anyway you'll be pleased to know we had a fantastic time!

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THURSDAY I'M IN LOVE - Prince - 'Sign 'O' The Times'
4/ 5
Oleh

5 comments

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Anonymous
1 March 2012 at 06:38

Classic. One of the great tunes. Thanks for sharing the memories. Slough and Windsor are special for me, too.

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sfw
1 March 2012 at 07:52

Nice story and a great song. If Prince had quit music after sign o' the times he'd be reveered as
much as Hendrix etc.

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1 March 2012 at 09:29

Yes great story and up there with his best songs...2 Queens indeed!!!

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1 March 2012 at 16:34

Loved your story and love the song. Prince was one of my faves growing up too. He's a sexy mf I that pic!

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Jon
1 March 2012 at 20:45

Glad you had a great weekend back in Windsor. This was the album that really got me into Prince and made me explore his back catalogue. Had the live DVD on the other week and it's still one of the finest live shows ever.

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