Song of the Week #216

Hi everyone. There's a whole heap of stuff I had planned for this week's episode but it will all have to wait until next week. I'm sure you'll understand.

 

Last weekend I was at the coast with Angus. We were staying with our close friends Macca and Marcus. Anyway, more about that visit another day. When I was there I got an email to tell me that a close friend who lived in London had died. This week's episode is all about, and dedicated to him.

 

My mate Garry, often referred in this rambling mess of words as DJ E17, died alone at 50. Our friendship was interesting. We 'met' in 1997 as we shared an interest in collecting GI Joe and Action Man figures. We also soon discovered similar obsessive tastes in music along with a keen interest in sport. I guess over the 15 years that I've known Garry we've corresponded, mainly via email, ten to fifteen times a week. Not bad for two blokes on opposite sides of the planet who never met.

 

I'm pretty sure I heard on the radio something about this being 'Mental Health Week'. This is fitting because Garry struggled with depression and anxiety later on in his life. He lost his job as an accountant which triggered many issues for him including an extended stay in hospital. But, recently he'd been working and enjoying life. We're both fans of Tom Petty and Garry went to see him recently in London sending me a tour t-shirt. What's so sad is that he saw Tom play about a week after losing his job. He wrote to me that he would never have bought the ticket if he had an inkling of his work drying up. After this his anxiety about how he would live combined with complications from diabetes meant he was back in hospital. I knew he was there and we exchanged a couple of text messages. Three weeks after coming home and even with health services visiting him two to three times a day he's dead. It's a devastating loss to me, one that has made me feel truly helpless. But this post is about Garry, not about me.

 

I thought the best thing I could do for my friend is to remember him with a few songs. We were the USB equivalent of "cassette tape traders" for years so I know pretty much the tunes he loved. I'll choose three. One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready...why the hell did you have to go?

 

Tom Petty – You Don't Know How It Feels - http://youtu.be/9TlBTPITo1I

 

Stevie Ray Vaughan – Little Wing - http://youtu.be/JWcUJxrih5M

 

Mott the Hoople – Rest In Peace - http://youtu.be/0WwEYp0ilP0

 

That's all from me this week.

 

RIP Garry.

 

DJ Rob