They're like buses

Not been to Rock City for nigh on 6 years, then suddenly twice in four days, and it'll be three times next week with The Pigeon Detectives.

When I was a young teenager I, not unlike pretty much every other teenage boy at the time, longed for a girlfriend.

Not for the inevitable holding hands, French kissing and love bites (for love bites were THE pinnacle of teenage love at the time), but for another less obvious reason.

I loved music back then, as I still do, and while my exposure was more limited back then, I was still musically broader than a lot of my school peers. I loved two-tone, Madness, Adam & the Ants etc, before moving into a more synth based taste. Three bands that I loved back in the day (and still do to some extent) were ABC, Depeche Mode & Human League.

Three songs stood out by these triumvirate of acts, "All of my Heart" from the still beautiful Lexicon of Love LP, "See You", early Depeche Mode at its best, pre Dave Gahan's full blown hug with death and "Louise" by the Human League. All three songs charting the feeling of being in love, and the pain of losing that dream. The aching, the wanting, the loneliness.

That's what I wanted a girlfriend for, so she would chuck me and these songs would mean something to me personally. *

So imagine the feeling of finding a band that, not only had the odd one or two songs of love & rejection, but have built an entire catalogue & career out of it.

I first saw the always mighty Wedding Present 20 years ago, while they promoted their first album, George Best, and the current tour is billed to play that same album in full. Superb.

The attendees at Rock City on Sunday may well have contained the same people at Trent Poly 20 years ago. Or Rock City in the late '80's. Or The Marcus Garvey Centre in the early '90's. Or the Rescue Rooms over the last two years. Or any of the other 20 odd venues I've seen them in the intervening 20 years. We all look a little bit older, the mosh pit is a little bit slower and the lights reflect off more punters bald-patches (thankfully not guilty) but the songs remain the same, anthemic guitar laden conversations from the protagonist to an ex, or soon to be ex.

The times have changed in the 20 years, "When I sent you that letter", David Gedge reminds his ex in "Brassneck". Who sends letters any more ? And "Everyone Thinks he Looks Daft" would probably now be "He's a proper minger, in' it"

But I'll still be going in 20 years time, when Gedgy will be complaining of being dumped while queuing for his pension. "I gave you my hip, but then you gave me the slip", could well be a Wedding Present line of the future.

* When I did get my first taste of hand-holding, French kissing & love-bites it was fantastic, but when I got chucked, I soon realised how wrong I was. She wasn't called Louise so it didn't mean anything personal and I felt like crap.