The way I woz
Looking at this school photo of myself from 1973 it occurred to me that this was taken around the same time that Simone Palmey asked me out which makes me wonder what was it that attracted her. Do you think it was my long, flowing Donny Osmond locks? If I'd had that gap in my teeth fixed I could have been on the cover of Disco 45.
Not everyone was a fan of my hair though, I still remember my teacher Mr. Grant handing me the prints of that photo and shaking his head in old fogey disdain at my girly look. My Grandmother hated it too, I was staying with her one day back then and she took me to an old fashioned barbershop in Shepherd's Bush Market to get it chopped off without telling my parents. The barber jokingly said "we don't do girls!" when we walked in and then gave me a very severe short back and sides with the clippers. When my Dad came to pick me up later that day he screamed at my Grandmother "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HIS HAIR!!!!"
The other thing about the photo that occurred to me is that horrible t-shirt I'm wearing, it may have been the height of children's fashion in 1973 but no amount of retro cool nostalgia could make it look good today — my sister had one exactly the same in pink too. I would have hoped that on school photo day my Mum would have put me in something a little less groovy, didn't she know I'd be looking at this picture 35 years later?
If you'd like a soundtrack to this photo, this romantic little number was top of the charts about when it was taken.
Download: Skweeze Me Pleeze Me - Slade (mp3)
11 Comments:
Tee hee.
I too looked like that in 73. My barnet was much curlier, which led me to be likened to the popular Hair Bear Bunch!
Music was a blessed release from the high fuel prices, home heating woes, 8% inflation, bomb threats, and Abba.
Nothing much has changed ... 'cept of course, the curls have long gone.
The jumper in my school picture of the same year looks uncannily like this T-shirt. It's a fact: we have no idea of style until we leave primary school.
Abba, Dick? In 1973??? They didn't win the Eurovision till 74, and not many in the UK had heard of them before that.
Romantic as in Noddy's observation that "when a girl means yes she says no" - a truly non-PC lyric!!
There's a few early 70s photos in the family album of myself in those tie-dye "grandad" vests of the day but in 1973 at the age of 15 I was the proud wearer of a bright orange Bowie image T-shirt.
Nice image of yourself being led (by the ear?) to the barbers by your Gran - "you're not going out looking like that" indeed!
Phil
dear nostalgia,
im sick and tired of your ways. always trying to ruine today with your bloody yesterday.
nicely written blog.
You have my sympathy. Every 40-something bloke I know has embarrassing 70s pics haunting them. My kids are horrified and say I look like a girl. Try telling them it was the fashion and they remain unconvinced like they're thinking 'couldn't you see it was just wrong'.
I was born in '73 so don't have pictures like that until about '78 or '79.
The (English) Abba were huge in the Pontefract area in 1973.
Albert, Arthur, Betty and Beryl sang catchy northern songs about flat caps, whippets and the 3 day week. At one point, they had a residency at Batley Variety Club (compered by Charlie Williams). They appeared at the Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club several times and finished 4th in New Faces behind a clarinet playing albino dwarf called Neville.
Beryl left in Jan 74 due to musical differences and, following a fling with Bobby Crush, became a seamstress for the dancing troupe Young Generation.
The 3 remaining band members tried to continue - under the name of Baa - but quickly fell from grace following an alleged incident with Arthur and a goat on a slag heap near Castleford.
Sweden's Abba found their Waterloo in Brighton in May 74 and the rest as they say is ...
Ah DVD, it's time you started blogging again; your comments of late have been excellent!
Mr Lee, great picture; I'm going through a nostalgia phase at the moment. At all stages of life I suspect we'll look back at some point and say: what did I think I looked like?
Christ, lad, were they putting estrogen in your Horlicks?
I remember 1973 well too i didnt have long hair like yours and i hated the haircuts. Id love to hear more details of what you remember of that barbershop haircut its sounds a nightmare how old were you? I collect old real haircut stories id love to hear yours .
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