When I used to mime to I Can't Explain with my three Mod
friends back in '65 that was me being a ghost member of The Who
- something I've always felt part of. And nowadays, when I do
a reading to Who fans about growing up with the band I feel an
extension of that very same ideal. The stage again. I've found
out that you're never too old to do a reading. You can be too
old to sing rock songs on stage but not too old to sit
on a chair and play classical guitar the way Julian Bream does.
During my readings, I actually tell a good story about doing that
mime on the stage at the Hammersmith Palais. And whether it's
the Irish in me, I don't know, but I do get attention when I read
or tell a story. It has occurred to me, at times, that I've managed
to retain my sense of history which I've enshrined into a celebration
of cameo readings. I mean, here I am, the grandfather of a two
year old boy, and I'm sitting down at a microphone somewhere reading
about the only band that ever mattered to me, Mods, pills,
and how Kit Lambert in a moment of madness christened
me "Irish Jack".
The funny thing about my nickname is that it had
the same set-trap as The Who. Somebody at work would ask,
"What's the name of that band your friend is in?"
and I'd reply, "The Who!" "Who?" "Yeah,
The Who!" At the Goldhawk somebody would come up and ask,
"Are you Irish,….Jack?" And I'd say, "Er,
yeah. I'm Irish." Then they would turn to one of their friends
and say, "See, I told yer he was Irish Jack
" I'd look back at them, confused. I didn't know his friend
was called Jack! It took me awhile to actually latch on to the fact
that Lambert had given me a nickname and that was what the band
were calling me.
Photo ©Martin Healy
