It was a chance encounter that introduced me to Magazine – I was 5 minutes late for my first lecture at Uni and the tutor wouldn’t let me in and I was told to wait outside. 3 minutes later another young lad rushes by, army greatcoat, DM’s and a gets the same treatment. We say hello wait 5 minutes and then we bugger off to the student union – it was thermodynamics, their loss not ours. Martin was from Bromsgrove and like me didn’t really know why he was doing Chemistry.

We bonded over music and pinball, specifically the Bally Harlem Globetrotters machine which we played relentlessly when we weren’t doing chemistry! A week later I heard Real Life. Listening back now it might not have aged well, the productions is ‘of it’s time’ but actually that’s the whole point. Of all the 10 albums this one takes me back to that moment – young, carefree, clueless but about to find out what life was about. The standout track for me is ‘The Light Pours Out of Me.’ It’s my feel good track, when I’m at the top of my game – this is me.