When I pushed the idea of The Record Player into the happy faces of the good people of the Tyneside Cinema, I had, at the back of my mind, this notion of listening to an album as a shared experience, much the same of going to see a film or a play. Obviously, it takes a great leap of faith, sitting in the dark with some strangers for company, letting yourself go with the groovy sounds.
It's happened twice so far. The Darkside of the Moon was, I felt, a contemplative evening, whereas Ziggy Stardust rocked the house.
There's not a bad song on that album, not one overstays it's welcome, it sounds tough and sweet all at the same time.
The boat was pushed out for Ziggy. Before the playback top Tyneside actor Laura Norton took on the mantle of Angie Bowie. She read some of Angie's prose and poetry and then I talked some nonsense. The icing on the cake was an interview I'd recorded the day before with King Spider - Sir Woody Woodsmansey which ended with him introducing the album.
I'd emailed Woody via his website, asking if he'd be up for a chat, and very generously he said yes.
That's what I love about things like this. Sometimes, just sometimes you get to say hello to people who have sound tracked not only yours, but millions of peoples lives. If the 14 year old me knew that the 52 year old me was talking to an actual Spider from Mars (Driffield, East Yorks actually fact fans) he would have fainted away with joy, which actually, I very nearly did.
I had goosebumps from start to finish, and, as Rock n Roll Suicide drew to a close, everyone applauded.
That's the power of Ziggy.
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