Young hearts run free

1976. I'd just left university and was working in a car wiring factory. Radio One was played over the Tannoy system in the mornings. Candi Staton's Young Hearts Run Free was the sound of that summer. My friend Marie loved the song, loved the sentiment.I loved the song but the sentiment didn't seem as relevant. My heart wasn't running free - I'd been married for two years and didn't see the end of it. Fourteen years, a divorce, a second marriage and two children later, I got a phone call to tell me that Marie had taken her life.Running free in her own way. Last summer Candi Staton was part of the Manchester International Festival, and my son and I got tickets to see her in the big tent in Albert Square. It was packed with devoted fans. We were right at the front, by the stage.We could see the colour of the nail varnish on her toenails! She was warm, pretty, in her seventies and totally fabulous. You Got the Love. It felt like being surrounded by friends. The emotional impact of her songs was overwhelming. She had already given some free performances in a local gospel church. This was no Radio One pop concert - her music took us all to a higher place. She is coming back to Manchester to the Royal Northern College of Music this summer. Go if you can.