I have a sore mouth today. At the grand old age of 44 I decided it was time for me to do something I've always wanted to do for myself and finally get my teeth straightened. I missed my chance when I was at school and it was free on the NHS as my parents never bothered to make me go to the dentist. I could never afford it as an adult, there was always somewhere more important for the money to go. I've always been self conscious about my very crooked teeth and resentful towards my lazy, neglectful parents.
I didn't want the indignity of train track metal braces as an adult and I was intrigued by the new innovation of clear plastic braces. Again they were prohibitively expensive. During lockdown I was farting about on the internet looking at before and after pictures of Invisilign treatment. I stumbled across an online provider at a fraction of the cost. I threw caution to the wind and signed up there and then. Dentists offices were closed at the time anyway so I couldn't have visited a practice had I wanted to. Online was the way to go. Several sets of impressions later I had twenty sets of clear plastic braces and a considerably emptier bank account.
I wear my braces for around 22 hours a day, taking them out to eat only. The first couple of days with a new set of trays is always uncomfortable as they are tight and can be very difficult to remove and put back in, but usually within a few days I'm totally adjusted to them and they pop in and out easily.
I'm on my tenth set of trays out of twenty just now and holy cow is it uncomfortable. My teeth are so tender and my gums on the bottom are getting shredding. I keep telling myself it's a 'good' pain and I will feel incredible once my teeth are finally straight. My confidence will go through the roof. My teeth (and cankles) have been my main source of self consciousness my whole life. No pain no gain I guess. I'll be so glad when this is over though.
Anyway, enough of the facts, on with the fiction.
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I moved on from Graeme pretty quickly. Just a normal teenage crush. Someone to slow dance with around the living room. Normal stuff.
On my fifteenth birthday in 1990 I got a Walkman. I was both pumped and stoked to receive this. It was white and had a red stop button. I can't remember now what brand it was but I'm guessing it was Bush or one of the cheaper makes. We weren't a well of household. I got some birthday money, £15 as I recall, and I went into Woolworths in Pingley High Street and bought Stray by Aztec Camera and Strange Kind of Love by Love and Money. I was a bit underwhelmed by the Aztec Camera record to be honest but I fell hard in love with Love and Money. I felt like I had found the key to myself.
I became quite the music snob, as only a fifteen year old can. I discovered lots of other scottish and Irish bands like Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, The Fat Lady Sings, Hue and Cry, Deacon Blue and Del Amitri. Bands mostly forgotten now, distinctly average at best but adored by teenage me who thought I knew what I was talking about. I thought I knew what I was talking about and didn't hesitate to let other people know their taste sucked because it wasn't the same as mine. God, I was insufferable.
I used to listen to a DJ on local radio who promoted scottish and irish rock and indie bands. He was my god. I would hover over the record button on my cassette player to tape any interesting music, often on AM bandwidth with scratchy ghostly howls in the background. I never had money to buy albums, that was for xmas and birthdays. I could only yearn for them, a luxury people like me could not afford.
I listened to Strange Kind of Love obsessively though. I whirled the cassette around a biro from start to finish many times to unloosen the tight tape from repeated fast forwarding and listening to the same song over and over. I thought James Grant was just the best songwriter and lyricist ever. He was my idol. I was in love with him.
This time it was real.
Love and Money weren't a hugely popular band. Their singles might have grazed the top 50 if they were lucky. They never quite lived up to their promise. They were never on magazine covers. They might have singles reviewed in papers or magazines. I would pore over magazines religiously hoping to see a mention of L&M and if I did I would keep it safe in a red binder specifically for articles relating to them. I still have it now, thirty years later. It's pretty tattered and I rarely look at it. It doesn't mean much to me now but I still can't bring myself to part with it. I might need James again one day.
Strange Kind of Love was Love and Money's second album. It came out in 1988. They released their first album 'All You Need Is..' in 1986. This first album sucks as far as I'm concerned, and James himself looks back on it with embarrassment. It was brash, bombastic blue eyed soul. If I heard this record first I'd never have bought Strange Kind Of Love and my life would be totally different so I have to be grateful for that.