What makes the world go around? What connects people more than anything else? I think its music!

In the last short period of time going to hear live music is now a target for evil. Those people making this happen do not care for music, they do not care for people, they do not care, not at all, not ever!

Music transcends all of this though. A love of music is no longer a matter of taste, it is no longer a matter of being in a certain gang, it’s a connector that takes us all, people of every age, gender, creed, persuasion, away from staring at a screen, away from the pace of life in 2017. Music is escapism, hope, solace a vision of the future and a window to the past.

Last night’s events in Manchester, to me the home of English music, well my English music anyway, is like targeting the future of us all. A love of music from that city, that aspirational city, that baggy city, that ‘mad-for-it’ city can begin to give any of us a platform for forgiveness, for hope, for us staying connected to each other as humans, not as religions, not through technology but through love, hope, consideration and a will, a will to be there for one another.

So in the words of a few of ‘my’ Manchester bands rather than my own thoughts, I take a new meaning from these lyrics and they help me sleep tonight…

Press your lips,
To my eyes,
Taste my tears,
On your tongue,
Pull the blinds,
Play our song.

Get out of bed,
Come out and sing,
Blue skies ahead,
The man who told everything.

Do what you`re doing,
say what you`re saying.
Go where you’re going,
Think what you`re thinking,
Sounds good to me.

So this is how it feels to be lonely,
This is how it feels to be small,
This is how it feels when your word means nothing at all.

The road is long,
With many a winding turn,
That leads us to who knows where,
Who knows where.

Up, down, turn around,
Please don’t let me hit the ground,
Tonight I think I’ll walk alone,
I’ll find my soul as I go home,
Up, down, turn around

Too much to take,
Some cross to bear.
I’m hiding in the trees with a picnic.

And all the roads that we have to walk are winding,
And all the lights that lead the way are blinding,
There are many things that I would like to say to you,
But I don’t know how.

Thanks be to; The Doves, The Happy Mondays, The Inspiral Carpets, The Hollies, New Order, The Stone Roses, Oasis, and lets face it so many more.

Love Manchester, love people, connect to one another, stop the violence.