As a result of having bought some concert tickets online in the past I now get all sorts of regular e-mails from ticket agencies and venues and I’m used to seeing old names in the forthcoming attractions and thinking “are they still going?”.  This week I got something from the Carling group about whats coming to the Brixton and Islington Academies and the Shepherds Bush Empire.  Amongst the up-and-coming, fresh young artists listed are Golden Earring, Focus, Wishbone Ash, Billy Idol, the Groundhogs and… Fields of the Nephilim. (!)

Now there’s a name to conjure up memories.  I saw Stevenage’s favourite sons play at the old Town & Country club, although it was probably called the Forum by then.   I do have a CD of theirs and a concert DVD, but I wouldn’t call myself a fan as such – I just like having something to remind me of bands I have seen.

There was always something a tad ridiculous about the Nephs, with that whole battered overcoat and hat thing and all the throwing of flour at concerts and the growling vocals, but I really enjoyed seeing them and I still think Moonchild is a great song.  I never bought into the whole goth thing, but everyone else there did.  My favourite memory of the evening was not from the show itself but from the concession stall.  Even at so many years’ distance I can’t believe that someone was optimistic enough to stock white t-shirts amongst the band merchandise.  I think that a Tehran pork butcher would get more business than someone trying to sell white Fields of the Nephilim t-shirts.

Mind you, when it comes to concert merchandising Santana was bloody weird too.  At his concert they were selling Santana carpets.  Who wants to travel back from a concert lugging a carpet up to Wembley tube station?  But I’m rambling again, back to  the point – I really doubt I will get tickets myself, but good luck to the Nephs anyway they will always remind me of a particularly special time of my life.