Special

October 1980 and I had a ticket to see the Specials at Midsummer Common in Cambridge I was 13 , with a short back and sides , 5 feet 4 inches tall weighing in at about 6 and a half stone . I donned my 32 inch chest navy blue crombie with a red hanky proudly folded in the breast pocket. My size 4 black tasselled loafers , shining like a coat of fresh gloss paint. Earlier that day my dad had shouted “if you’re gonna wear them soppy shoes , at least polish the bloody things ! ” My white terry towelling socks from the market showing them to their full advantage. My rolled up, tight jeans were an altogether much sadder affair , no name , no leather patch on the waist band. None of this mattered because my crowning glory was my wine red Fred Perry shirt in , as my cousin clearly pointed out , “it’s in West Ham colours”. My cousin was from Ilford, so when I received the sacred shirt for my 13th birthday the previous January , the choice of colour was no surprise.

May 12th 2009 and I had a ticket to see the Specials at Brixton Academy. I was now 42 , 5 feet 7 inches tall and considerably heavier. A new pair of dog tooth trousers, Loake tasselled loafers, red terry towelling socks and a cream coloured 3 button Fred Perry shirt.

29 years on and, all the good stuff remains the same…….

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• uploaded by: Alex
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• Year : 1980
• Style : Two Tone
• Country : United Kingdom
• Occupation : Old Bill
• Votes : 52