Download the MP3 PodcastPaul 113 herePaul unplugged.
Carling don't do mellow shows, but if they did, this would probably be their flagship....
Me.
I grew up in Quinton, South Birmingham,a very poor district of Birmingham.
I attended Four Dwellings School, lots of struggles, real strife there. I hated the place. I wanted to go to a better school - this was a toilet - I wanted to go to another school because I was terrified of the reputation.
There were fights outside the school constantly. No one - and I mean no-one wanted to learn.
School was a terribly miserable existence. I remember thinking surely we should be learning here? One teacher didn't even turn up for 9 months and the teachers neither cared nor knew.
Music was a real way out for me - I took to the drums and loved my music, though initially I had to be careful about the music I listened to.
Bullies were rife, expectations were horribly low. You had to learn to fight through the day. That, in some perverse way helped me.
I remember a fateful careers advisor and an absoluely appalling Maths teacher. I was determined to show these hateful people that I was better than they expected. Incredibly a good number of my class mates did well by educating themselves after school life.
Church was a big part of my life - a whole hotscotch of folk from all walks of life - church - and drums....and work - great work ethic.
All's well that ends well, but never think of me as that lawyer bloke with a misconception - hopefully I don't fit the middle class stereo-type.
Class music (as ever from the following artists)
podsafe music network:
Truly by The Fags
Black Heart Blues - Melissa Forbes
Tender by Black Tie Destiny
I found you - Rebecca Haviland ( this is a MUST listen to)
Thanks to Darren and Ellie for Elli Myles - Forget You. Guys it's only a matter of time before you get signed and find your fame and fortune. Remember me on a record sleeve credit eh? ;-)
Thanks for listening , please send your feedback by mail or audio www.podcastpaul.com - mail to paul@podcastpaul.com.
Paul
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2 comments:
Hi Paul,
Wonderful podcast with perfect reflective music. We are so similar and I don't want to bleat on about it but my background was one where I went to a really bad school was told the best I could hope for was to be painter & decorator like my dad (rather than be a painter). But somthing clicked at school and I worked my backside off just to prove everyone wrong and became an Architect. It wasn't easy along the way and I went through a divorce when I was young and with my second child on the way with my new partner I'm finally getting my life sorted. Your past always has a bearing on who you become but it is up to you to make the best of every situation and find that inner peace, for me without god.
Jason (Manc-Oxford)
Great show Paul. I never had you pegged for some kind of 'private school snob' (no one who did those shows from Swaziland could ever be that kind of person) but it was interesting to hear about the things that you think influenced the person you've become.
Schoold days weren't the best days of my life either. I spent virtually my entire school life not fitting in. I recall one whole school year where I didn't have more than a handfull of conversations with any other students - I basically spent the the whole school day alone. I was ignored by the teachers and teased by the other students. Why? I was into drama and alternative music and reading poetry at a school where the only value you had was what you could contribute to the sporting teams. I didn't wear the right clothes or have the right interests and was shunned because of it.
But, as my dad would often tell me, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger and I certainly can atest to that.
Thanks for sharing your story
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