So during my teens like many a typical teenager, I took up playing the game of Pool, and finding locations to play the game of pool was somewhat difficult (in the sense that most tables were within public house establishments). So not to be put off, you tended to find yourself in hidden away back street cafe’s from another era.
One such location within Hereford, England, United Kingdom was a small backstreet establishment entitled The Regal Café; sat alongside an old Bingo Hall and came complete with greasy fried bacon sandwiches, a couple of cafe tables, a cigarette machine and a JUKEBOX with many weird and wonderful old classic 60’s, 70’s music hits or records intermixed with some modern 80’s music.
The place was located just of East Street, Hereford, and my memory is so bad and so many changes have occurred since that time, that I cannot recall whether it was Aubrey Street or Berrington Street, you can get a Hereford overview map via clicking the link.
So teenagers playing pool in smokey greasy old style café from another era that today would likely be called RETRO though was very real and unmoved by History, seeming to exit within its own little timewarp bubble of reality and inhabited by a weird blend of customers and clientele.
We would march in, put a couple of hours worth of music on the Jukebox for some bizarre rate far below what was priced elsewhere and take over the also excessively cheap pool table and eating bacon sarnies between games and rotating opponents.
Yes I know Paul Newman “The Color of Money” had been popular around that time period though had not actually seen the film as far as I can recall.
That possibly what modern youth lack in a way are those old style hangout and haunts that are not going to break a teenage or youth budget.
Yes so President Obama visits New Orleans and speaks on Hurricane Katrina, whilst my own New Orleans knowledge came about via that of course famed as a classic jukebox hit. The house of the rising Sun https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRXb7K7k7bQ
(Notice “Ronald Weasley” on Base Guitar), and Organist Eyes darting everywhere wondering if he has correct camera, in the choreography.
I can of course also note to mention Anne Rice VAMPIRE NOVELS set in and around Gothic old style New Orleans (I read them many years later and generally felt that the films did them (book series) little justice as a series, although the major film starring Tom Cruise was of course a hit (I think) and a good film anyway.
The other surprising New Orleans references actually come about via multiple Scooby Doo episodes and films, I know this from seeing the daughters accumulated cartoon collection though suspect that I may have seen some during my own childhood etc.
So I thought rewrite the lyric and then saw a somewhat short INSTAGRAM release related to the forthcoming THE FORCE AWAKENS from DISNEY PIXAR making myself think of
The Spirit of The Awakening Sun
More power, must have more power (Darth never said that)
There is, a Spirit, in New Orleans
They Call the Awakening Sun
and its been the ruin of many a vampire
and God I know Shaggy’s one
YES so you start with simple thoughts and then meander and find yourself combining old ideas into a new mix.
Thank you for reading, God Bless and Be Well 😉
Dave S Perkins 