Two sevens clash

Last week two completely unconnected ( except through me) friends on Facebook posted links to Stevie Nicks' songs. On BBC4's music programme on Friday there was footage of George Benson, from The Old Grey Whistle Test, circa 1976. I usually write about concerts I have enjoyed, and I've usually enjoyed the concerts I have been to, but there are two that are fixed in my memory as personal turning points. They really made me feel that I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sometime around 1976/77 I went to see Fleetwood Mac with Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, at the Ardwick Apollo.I'd loved Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac since I was about 14, and Christine MacVie was one of my favourite singers ever. I couldn't stand the way she was upstaged by Stevie Nicks, and I wanted to see a progressive British blues band, not some Californian hangers on. Of course with the benefit of hindsight and maturity I can see that it worked for them then and the millions of fans since. The appeal carries on because all eras of music are now so accessible, and I have calmed down! Around the same time I made a special trip into Manchester to see George Benson at the Palace. Now I like jazz guitar, I appreciate those smooth sounds, and I love soul music. On a summer's evening like we are experiencing as I write, there's nothing better than 'Breezin' blowing in the wind. But on that night back in 76/77 I could barely keep awake during the concert. I was bored by live music. Luckily something was stirring to fire up my enthusiasm and wake me up. Punk, New Wave, Rock against Racism, reggae - a new energy created when two sevens clashed.