MUHAMMAD ALI - Growing Up!

The story goes that at 12 years old boy growing up in Louisville, Kentucky only took up boxing when he found his bicycle had been stolen. At the time Muhammad Ali and his friend were attending a Black Community event in town.  Upset and angry, the young boy was desperate to report the theft to the police. He was taken to the basement gym where Joe Martin, a local police officer was training young boxers as part of the convention. Muhammad was distraught, saying if he ever caught up with the thief he would ‘whup’ him for taking his bike. Joe asked if he had ever learned to fight and when the boy said No, it seemed like an opportunity to give a young man some direction in life.

Muhammad was born into a loving, working class family with parents that gave him space to let his personality grow. In interviews his mother and father talk about him and his brother Rudolph with true pride. At school Muhammad leaned towards Art. From an academic side his teachers described him as ‘mostly average’ – as if a child can be labelled such a thing. His father was a sign-painter and later in life he was able to pursue art in his own creative and unrestricted way. He enjoyed painting murals for every church in the county. If things had been different perhaps Muhammad would have joined his father in the family business.

As a young boxer Ali did not really stand out. He showed great commitment and worked hard, but it was a few years before his potential could actually be seen. At first it was simply the pursuit of athleticism and all he really wanted was the chance to compete in local competitions and television shows. As a young teen he was in the gym six days a week. His goal was to make a little money, enough to buy his parents a good home and for himself – a Cool car.

The young Ali was in some ways very different to the one we see spouting out ‘put downs’ and poems before a big fight. He was very shy around girls and so maybe he thought the Cool car would help. By 18 years old he had won six Kentucky Golden Glove tournaments, two National Golden Gloves and two National AAU competitions. The local university was able to sponsor him to compete at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome; however a fear of flying nearly stopped him from going. Frantically he kept talking about going on a boat but with his brother Rudolph and coach Joe, he braved the trip and came away with a Gold medal.

It would take money and notoriety for him to progress to the next level. I recently read a great story about Ali’s quick thinking. He was working with Flip Schulke a photographer for Sports Illustrated at the time. Ali found out the freelancer also did work for Life Magazine – the biggest publication in the U.S at the time. So he asked the photographer how he could get into Life but even with the Gold medal and a lot of great exposure Schulke did not feel the magazine would go for it. Changing tack Muhammad asked what kind of pictures he took for Life and was told that he speacialised in underwater photography. Thinking on his feet, Ali said ‘did you know I am the only boxer who trains underwater’. This was a complete lie, he never went in the pool because he could not swim. But he spun the yarn saying where as other fighters wore weighted shoes (or ’big old shoes’ as he put it) to increase speed and strength, he did something different. He told the photographer every morning he got into the pool up to his neck and threw his punches under water. The directors at Life magazine bought into this completely made up story. He got four pages of photos and the world read exclusively about this innovative new form of training

There was still a lot of work needed if Ali was to turn Pro and have a shot at a title. He put his time to good use, watching professionals, training with them and tapping them up for advice whenever or wherever he could. Here was an enigmatic young man growing in confidence by the day. He made time to talk to everyone he met and there was always a buzz around him. Muhammad was deeply respectful and appreciative of anyone who believed in him. No doubt he rubbed a lot of fans up the wrong way by mouthing off about every fighter he came across. But I suppose he realised he could throw a few punches before he got in the ring. Psychology was everything, he knew he would be going toe to toe with big sluggers with years of experience. Boxers who not only believed they would knock the petulant Muhammad Ali down, but had people on their pay role constantly telling them it was inevitable.  Ali won his first fifteen professional fights which amazingly featured a string of nine wins by knock downs. He was always moving around the ring, showing immense energy and hardly ever having a glove laid on his face. He signed a contract worth $4k per year salary with 50% of all purses. He even bought himself a Cadillac.

Muhammad Ali went on to be World Heavyweight Champion and described as the most charismatic person in the world by everyone that ever met him! In interviews we saw such self belief; an incredibly funny guy who always showed respect to fighters who made him think and gave him a tough time in the ring. He made it ok to be cocky and showed huge enthusiasm for the sport. Ali remains a big influence in my life because of the simple yet powerful things he said. As a kid I saw an interview where he said he was always going to be ‘The Greatest’ whatever profession he had found. He said if he was a Trash man he would have dunked more trash cans in an hour then anyone else. I have always believed that whatever our function is in society, we all have the opportunity to achieve great things with the hand we are dealt. That everyone can lead a meaningful life, it’s down to how we treat each other and the respect we have for ourselves.

At 16 years old I started at college and also flipping burgers at McDonalds, a job we heard about through a friend of my Dads. I did not want to disappoint anyone so I worked dead hard. Cooking, cleaning and lugging round stacks of boxes far heavier then I thought I could ever lift. Every pay check bought me a new music CD. In the kitchen we all spent busy lunchtimes singing songs together, from Buddy Holly, to early Beatles and classic Rock. Our manager went mad at us when we ran out of food but a ‘no singing ban’ never lasted very long! The job paid for my bus fares to college, my books and my beer money. After that I went to work in a bank and later in large offices; always having the chance to meet and work with some fantastic people!! The job could be stressful, boring, infuriating… but every time I know I have tried to hit it with all the energy and enthusiasm I can muster.

When I first went to work in a large office my team leader Tamzin, took me to one side and said. ’You’re a great guy, but you are working in an office with 40 people, what are you going to do to stand out?’ There was so many characters around me…all I had was a daft sense of humour and I liked to be helpful and ask people what they were up to. Sometimes little things can change you in a big way and even when work gets stressful I try to enjoy the fact I am around people I truly care about and we spend most days laughing all we can. I think I stand out - I have a habit of saying the first and often most stupid thing that comes into my head. Sometimes I get hacked off and erupt into a constant flow of drivel and opinion without thinking any of it through. But no one seems to mind and well, I never said I was ‘The Greatest’.

  

COMMING SOON!

The Red Indian Above The Curtains

Muhammad Ali

Stars: Why your place in the Universe isn't so little

A Tigers Tale

and maybe something about me.... 

#GRAFFITI Brighton '13

Just some of the Artwork, Ideas and Adverts you might see round Brighton's back streets.
Blink and you'll miss it !

if Eminem was drinking in West Street Brighton

8 Mile music starts…..

He’s Drunk and Sweaty, chatting up some Ugly-Betty,

There’s vomit on his sweater already, ‘Uncle Ben’s’ (microwave) spaghetti

Mates come over, drag him to Weatherspoons for a cheapy round.

Doubles up his Jack for an extra £1

Wants Onion rings, barmaid says they aint servin now

Goes quiet, he drops a C bomb so proud.

Laughing, all his mates are choking now

why’s he call the barmaid a B word so loud?

she’s gonna get them all thrown out

Time up - she calls the Bouncers over, now all their fun's over BLAUW!

Thrown out in the street again…

Whoops there goes Gravity !!!

He wont stop rabbiting

Tries to kick off, but the bouncers put him down easy.

He aint broke, he can stand

but he can’t walk that easy....
Hen Do in 'Revs', the men gettin sleazy 

Goes to 'WooWoos' and loves that its cheesy !

Gets a Chilli-flavour-Shot as a free-bee

‘They forgot to ID me’  : )

And the drinks go on and on and on

He’s mates only drink harder, they make him drink harder

He’s rubbin up against a drunk girl in ‘Oceana’

Tries to pick her up but they both fall over.

She tries to hobble off, he still wants her mobile number

She says No and then she calls her own father

But the beat goes on da da dum da dum da da

Kebab and Chips, get the squits

Start a fight - take some hits! Puking on his ‘K Swiss’

Try to miss your trainers if you bout to blow !

This opportunity comes once in a life time - YO!

Loose yourself, stumble home

Loose your mates, ‘ Where’s my Phone?’

Where has all your money gone?

Should have kept some Bus fare in your Socks

This opportunity comes once in a life time…..

If you have just one chance, one opportunity to go drinking in West Street…… Don’t !

Beach Afternoon

When the good weather finally arrives everyone is suddenly in a better mood. I have always thought it has a lot to do with pretty girls wearing bright summer dresses. Now I know the ‘official reason’ is a lot more scientific. The Sun of coarse emits a form of energy and in nature a calling for animals to come out of hibernation and start reproducing. Food sources replenish: the land grows lush. Psychologically speaking people are excited about ‘Get-aways’, Holidays and late nights out in town. But definitely a key factor is skimpy dresses! Put simply: Hotter weather ÷ less clothes = Hotter looking people. (Maths was never my best subject). Summer time comes and everyone’s thinking about Sex all the time….. I know I am!

Brighton beach in the summer is jam packed with people wandering around and interesting things going on. There are often Human Robots and Michael Jackson impersonators. Sometimes you will see Dancers, Sword-swallowers and stalls along the promenade with affordable wares. Bars to drink with Singers singing; Jugglers juggling and Basketball players…basketing? Plenty of little games to play on the Pier and fast rides placed precariously close to the edge. The Sun reigns high in the sky and brings with it all the things we have missed. I feel the heat as it presses down on me. I can smell the salt from the sea and the vinegar on my chips. Kopperburg, Ice-cream and lazy afternoons sitting with work pals on the beach.

On Saturdays the office closes for business at 1pm. In the good weather its tradition for us to grab some booze and meet up by the shore. We hope to see faces from the past – Allie, Sam, Grant or Jo or maybe even Emily. Everyone’s smiling, talking and joking around. Vague and idle clouds are smudged against a brilliant blue sky. Everything feels lazy, even the waves have little strength to claw away the pebbles. Slumped together in a circle we take the mickey out of each other and the girls make me drink shots to see how silly I get! 

Last weekend Stuart and Hannah.B  a.k.a ‘Biscuit’ organised a picnic on the lawns. Just behind the beach huts there is an area of grass where we can sit together and play ball games. Everybody chipped in a little money or bought drinks and food along. The spread was immense with a smorgasbord of global delights. Tikka Pasties, French sticks, XXX.HOT Mexican Cheddar, BBQ Chicken and Sweet and Sour Pork Bites. A meal infused with all the cultures of the world, brought to us by TESCO and served on mother natures table. In all its glory Celine’s homemade salad looked gorgeous, though sadly contained cucumber.

There were nearly 30 of us this year, though many faces were missed. But we did have some little children join us, so bad swears were a no-no! They played together and my friends ran after them, ate crisps and snacks till our belly’s were sore and our legs’ grew tired. Later their parents packed them into their buggies and took them home for snuggles on the sofa and rubbish TV. To a child the sea is a magical place, we  look out together and wonder what amazing things are left to discover. Tiny glimmers sparkle across the water and converge into a trail of white light that leads beyond the horizon. This must be the way Peter Pan leads all the lost souls to help them find their rest. There are certain kindnesses we forget as we get older. Days like these remind us of the importance of sharing and ‘please and thank you’. Without the laughter and mischievousness we learn as children we all risk drowning in the mundane.

One thing I hope will be true as long as it can be: that myself and my work pals will meet up every summer, sit by the sea and drink ourselves into oblivion. Maybe Leroy and Henry will make a little fire and I'm sure the girls will endlessly take photos. Its funny watching them agonize over which pictures they look the best in - the one’s they’ll put on Facebook. There will be days that we watch the sun melt across the sky and sink into the sea. The wind may gather about us and the crowds that flocked here just scurry away. But we will sit here chatting and laughing long into the evening. Or at least till one of us realises how cold it has become.

The GREAT ESCAPE New Music Festival

Every year ‘The Great Escape’ festival for new music comes to my home town of Brighton. With 350 artists playing in over 30 venues, the element of choice can seem overwhelming. If you are too brassic to buy tickets for this 3 day event, there are still some top bands playing for free as part of the ‘Alternative Escape’. So if you’re in town next May there’s simply no reason to miss out.

If there are artists you really want to see, my advice would be get there early for the band that are playing before them. Queues can form round small venues really quickly.  If you just fancy drifting around without a plan, it can be fun just to take your chances on an artist based on a great name or a intriguing synopsis in the programme. Hows about a gamble on ‘Bombay Show Pig’ or ‘Huskey Rescue’ for example. Whatever happens you are bound to come away discovering a few bands you will definitely follow in the future.

First up, the band I really wanted to see (bit of a girlie choice) – Wolf Alice. The music they have put out so far has been so varied: from guitar driven Pop Rock that takes me back to the 90s, through to the chilled out and serene. Their leading lady's vocals have a natural way of evolving through each track. Despite a sketchy first song and an unforgiving sound system I can tell they will be a really good live band for the future. I am already hearing that they are playing lots of festivals and have occasionally been appearing for free.

Giggin in Brighton (or anywhere) is all about atmosphere and this doesn’t always go hand in hand with the bigger clubs along the seafront. Sometimes you are better off going for a fun band in the basement or the backroom of a small pub. It’s all about the sticky floors, the joking around from over confident singers and girls dancing with the same grace and elegance as cigarette smoke on the night air. There’s also the fellas bouncing around, hopelessly drunk on the occasion and a days worth of reveling. I don’t care how practiced they are, a guy will always look terrible dancing beside a girl and I find gently rocking with a constant beer in my hand avoids any embarrassment.

Venues are as diverse as the music on show. There are artists playing stripped back sets in some of the Churches in town. You can even creep around Brighton museum and listen to people playing acoustic guitar and singing amongst the exhibits inside. The scratching noise of  fingers as they scrape across a fret might not be the most pleasing sound; but it will always remind me of being little and sitting by the bedroom door, while my Dad thought he was practicing his guitar on his own. You may come across some people’s music you think is absolutely terrible, but there is generally something interesting you can take from everything you’ll hear. Sometimes its good enough just seeing other people enjoy the show or the smile on the artists face when they finish to rapturous applause.

Friday was a great night! I missed out on the chilled out Swim Deep due to queues, but a friend suggested we check out Mikal Cronin a songwriter from California. Now don’t call me a Racialist but I wasn’t confident I would like seeing a band where all the boys’ hair cuts were longer then the girls, but they were Ace! It’s not often you’ll see four guitarist standing in line, belting out tunes with as much Awesome power as if Michael J Fox had linked them up to one of Doc Brown’s Amplifiers. We then headed down to the Haunt to watch ‘Merchandise’ a band NME have been raving about recently. They were good but afterwards the Palma Violets showed up as mystery guests and took things up an extra notch.

The Palma Violets can definitely put on a show and kept the crowd hungry all the way though. Even base and lead guitarists got involved with the crowd surfing, still playing as they rolled across the excited waves of fans. I would definitely recommend their album, there are echoes here of all the 80s punk and Mod classics I learned from growing up. Another band of the moment - Bastille also played the Great Escape. The success of their debut album and anthems like Pompeii and Laura Palmer have granted them passage to the big festivals this summer. But when the drums stop beating you’ll hear them sing the kinda songs you might wrap around someone who is hurting; when a slow dance in the lounge seems better then anything you can think of saying.

I guess I will always be more of a lyricist then a musician. Hopefully one day I will write something as emotive as a song. What I wanted to find at the Great Escape were interesting and believable lyrics; stories from the everyday. Songs about the elation of meeting someone so special that you have to tell your mate about her over a pint or the things someone may talk about while sitting on their best-friend’s bed. I definitely found these things as well as great tunes about getting embarrassed or just riding the bus!

Stepping away from the mainstream the people I saw have no arrogance. They sing about sex and relationships as a form of connection rather then just brag about it. I often listen to the UK Top 40 and I’m not saying ‘I don’t enjoy it’ but it’s nice to get away from people describing love in a very 2 dimensional way. Or just silly people who think they can actually fly ?!? It’s because of the honesty of their lyrics and sense of discovery that I really like the '1975’ at the moment and I’m always on the look out for a great new Indy band. To me the best tracks are the ones where the guitar playfully wanders off the main flow of the song, as a little kid may skip around their parents and run away as they walk along. Some of the artists appearing at the festival will have a great career ahead of them some may not get what they hoped for. But its good just to share in the snippets of their lives.

Saturday night, it’s late and a few of us are heading down to Blind Tiger Bar to catch the last few bands and maybe a dance after. Passing by a restaurant I see a waitress singing and strutting around as she is clearing the plates away. The place is empty so she can crank up the volume as load as she wants. Its not easy to talk about music without the old clichés but it is definitely the best way we have for expressing how we are feeling or how we want to feel. Maybe she will get the night off so she can go next year : )

The War of The Worlds Ball & The Legend of Stuart Draper

Seems like bumping into pretty girls in town while having a gob full of food has become a recurring theme for me in 2013. Then comes the ‘what you been up to’ conversation when suddenly I can’t think of anything vaguely interesting to talk about. So far my answers have been, ‘well sorting out the garden’ or ‘went down the pub Friday – had a KFC’. Surprisingly these kinda clumsy, unplanned chat up lines often get a good response and looking into a little lady’s misty eyes as they talk about how lush Kentucky Fried Chicken is, seems a great reason to be late for work. I can’t help but nod when people say the gravy is an ‘absolute dream’ and I find KFC a perfect venue for a second date.

Turns out my life has actually been very interesting lately. But its only when they walk away I remember this– Hey I’ve just been to a wedding in Texas… Come back so I can tell you how Cool I am! So I got to thinking why not write a blog about it all, if only to help me remember what the hell I’ve been up too.

So the other week I went to see my pal Hannah in a production of ‘The Boyfriend’ at Brighton’s Little Theatre. A tongue in cheek comedy set in the 1920s with singing and dancing- the whole Shebang! I wasn’t sure that I would like the show, I’m not use to going to the theatre, but I really, really enjoyed it! Hannah’s singing voice was a lot stronger then I was expecting and I was glad that a recent ankle injury from a Netball game didn’t stop her from dancing. I realised I’m just not use to that warm feeling inside from watching something inherently good natured. Seems such a novelty these days.

Last weekend me and my good pal Stuart Draper (name drop) attended the War of the Worlds Ball at Scala, in London. Stuart, a screenwriter and one of the best Quiz masters ever, is always going out somewhere interesting. The War of the Worlds Ball: essentially a chance to watch live music but with everyone dressing up with a space age theme. My favourite costumes included a girl as Daryl Hannah’s character from Bladerunner, The Clockwork Androids from Doctor Who (Episode – The Girl in the Fireplace) Princess Leia…. now I’m trying to remember who else, but all I can think of is scantily clothed ladies. I guess this was just a chance for people to dance and go a bit mad!

Stuart Draper is known as one of the great dancers of our time, he has won awards for it. By awards I mean he won a hat once at the ‘Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar Film Quiz’, where he beat a group of semi drunk contestants (including Pete from Big Brother 127 or whatever) by dancing to ‘I Just Cant Wait to Be King’ from Disney’s the ‘Lion King’… I’m sorry that sentence just got away from me there. Our quiz team didn’t do very well that night, but it definitely rates in the top 53 most exciting moments of my life so far. For those of you who have seen Stuart dance you probably can’t work out why he hasn’t featured in a Fatboy Slim video yet. I suppose his style is far too Electro for all that jazz !?! People keep telling me he is the ‘King of Cool’ and I’m getting really bored with this now.

The evening featured some intriguing cabaret acts, but things kicked off proper with the glorious ‘Sam and The Womp’, a Balkan sounding dubstep group featuring a brass quartet. What’s not to like about that? They are a great live band and after them we saw an enigmatic and energetic performance from the Correspondents just back from a 4 year hiatus. The night finished with some awesome DJ sets and with battle clad attendees and alien esque dancers jumping on stage. At 4am the lights came on and we were gradually forced from the dance floor like a sad exodus of Martian settlers from their war torn lands.

So many people put effort into their costumes: from the girls who had white lights under their dresses and in their hair, to the futuristic Imperial Guard or the giant Green Alien. Although myself and Stuart going as Superman and General Zod was no doubt the ‘Sexy Option’ we really didn’t spend too much time thinking about it or making our getup. A really fun night out which was largely down to great music as well as the atmosphere. I would definitely do something like this again….