Gig - John Otway

When I was about 14 my older brother introduced me to new wave music. He had a couple of collection albums. John Otway had two songs on one of them. The first was called ‘Really Free’. The second was called ‘Beware of the Flowers ‘cos I’m Sure They’re Gonna Get You, Yeah’. I loved them. And why? Because they had an element of silliness to them which I could identify with. Later on bands like Madness and Splodgenessabounds keyed into the same sort of vibe. But they didn’t seem to do it quite as well.

John Otway has been going ever since, and he’s never stopped being silly. I was talking to a friend about him the other day, and we discussed this. My friend had seen Otway a couple of times and said he was a brilliant entertainer. He did things like run up a step-ladder while playing his guitar, do a flip in mid-air, and land on the ground, without missing a beat. The lyrics, he said, were funny. And, (here’s the crux), brilliantly written, too. Which brought us to wondering, where would Otway have got without all the silliness? Maybe much further than he has with it. He could, maybe, have been a great singer, instead of just a great silly singer. Never mind, it’s the silly season, and it should be a great gig. I’m going, I’ve always liked John Otway. But maybe I’ll need a drink or two first, to get into the mood. AL