regrets? i've had a few - or why i never saw bogshed

bogshed are one of my favourite bands ever.
i never saw bogshed live.

here's why:



it was autumn 1986 and i was in love with "step on it", bogshed's debut album.
i'd recently started 6th form, supposedly doing A levels in english and art.
what i did mainly was bunk off and go sit in the local record shop - especially on a monday and a wednesday.
that was when the deliveries came.
i would buy the cartel's catalogue and go through it with a pen marking off the records i really NEEDED to own.

sorry, i digress.

bogshed then.

so, i was at 6th form.
the few friends i had liked the smiths and the bunnymen, one or two of them were gothy-types.
but it seemed that no-one else liked bogshed (or stump for that matter).

but there was a girl in my english class.
a girl i thought was beautiful.
we would have a laugh together if we bumped into each other in corridors and i quickly developed a crush.

then one afternoon she came and found me in the canteen.

"would you like to come and see bogshed with me tonight?", she asked.
i couldn't believe my ears.
this girl liked bogshed.
she was asking me out THAT NIGHT to see them!
"yes", i replied in a rather shaky voice, clutching my satchel (yes, i had a satchel and yes, there was the usual indie kid nonsense in it. like a copy of "now we are six").

it was arranged that we would meet back at the college later.
as i arrived i noticed she was waiting in a car with a BOYFRIEND.
(she'd not mentioned THAT to me).
i made some excuses and went back home.