Saturday 29 September 2012

SATURDAY NIGHT JUKEBOX! - Aztec Camera - 'Somewhere in My Heart'




My first job was as a sales assistant in a budget shoe shop called Olivers in the Treaty Centre in Hounslow Highstreet. For months I delivered my CV which consisted of my predicted GCSE grades (mostly As and Bs) to all the cool shops I saw myself working in especially HMV, Our Price and MVC. I couldn't understand why I was never successful and eventually lowered my job expectations and got the very last job I applied for. I couldn't wait to be settled in enough to have control of the in-shop CD player! There were 3 CDs in the shop already which didn't belong to anyone but must have been part of the heritage of Olivers. There was Beck 'Mellow Gold', Weezer's self titled album and a CD called 'This Is The 80s' with a picture of Spitting Image on the cover. I spent most of my summer during the 'back to school' rush listening to these 3 albums on repeat. One song which will always remind me of this hectic time is this classic from Aztec Camera. I'd not heard it before then and it was definitely my favourite song from the CD.

Roddy is a size 8.5 wide fit
 
Without the comfort of music and the Aztec Camera song, the 2 months of the 'back to school' sale would have been sheer hell. On a daily basis, the shop would look like Primark on a bad day, shoes strewn everywhere, mums with prams and screaming children at every corner. One particularly amusing moment was when I was struggling to measure a squirming little boy's foot and his mum who looked like she was at the end of her tether with her hair everywhere, screamed at him "Listen, you've had a Happy Meal and you're still not f**cking happy!!" It made me smile to myself and I would never have experienced 'real Hounslow life' if I didn't work there. I ended up staying there for two years and from those two years, I got into so much music from my coworkers, including my first experience of metal. Thanks Olivers.
 

The Heritage of Olivers


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SATURDAY NIGHT JUKEBOX! - Aztec Camera - 'Somewhere in My Heart'
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Oleh

8 comments

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C
29 September 2012 at 17:49

What a classic reminiscence. And I never knew that about Roddy ;-) Love it!

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29 September 2012 at 18:00

Haha, thanks C! The things you pick up in a shoe store eh?

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29 September 2012 at 18:00

Call yourself a Scotsman just 'cause you had a Macdonalds

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29 September 2012 at 19:04

Great memories, tune and T.Rex poster!

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Anonymous
29 September 2012 at 20:17

Roddy Frame - total hero. Found in all good shoe shops.

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29 September 2012 at 20:25

Thanks for the comments guys, you can't deny a classic!

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5 October 2012 at 06:41

Brilliant song, brilliant post. Aim for a music shop but end up at a shoe shop! How does that work, oh the indignity! The song reminds me of Jeddah, visions of listening to a mix tape in a rec area playing table tennis or Axis and Allies and then going for a swim.

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sfw
6 October 2012 at 09:53

80s pop at its best. Roddy Frame is a legend. He's actually on tour at the mo.

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