Seeing as though Manchester's most known and well respected music journalist John Robb is the reason and inspiration for why I started writing about music, I suppose it's only fair that I write an appreciation post about him on my music blog no? I first caught wind of John when I was getting into The Stone Roses when I was 12 or 13. My older sister Joanne had given me a copy of The Complete Stone Roses CD not long after it had just been released, maybe a year later if I remember rightly. My first impression was these guys were definitely the inspiration behind Oasis whom I'd gotten into first. Those raw opening tracks 'So Young' and 'Tell Me' displaying the earliest formation of the group and then onto the songs of the classic 4 piece line up. The only book I'd read before discovering John's influential 'The Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop' book around the time of its release was a children's book at School titled Tim and Tobias - Magic In The Wind (Not very cool). However John's book on The Stone Roses was beyond cool and immediately transformed my outlook. The way I dressed, the way I spoke, and the way I functioned in daily life. Not only did that book give me inspiration, but also a purpose. Listening to the music of the Roses all the time was my identity growing up in my early teens and just before. I learned to sing by singing along to Ian Brown's voice on those iconic Roses hits, also another example would be the great Liam Gallagher' whom often quoted Ian as being his Elvis and the inspiration behind him wanting to start a band and going the full length. What I loved most about John's book on the Manc Four was his passion and love for the group; there's nothing more exhilarating than reading the love someone expresses for a band for me. I met John this year for the first time and we bounced off each other about music and similar groups of interest. He even said it's proper nerdy music but nothing beats it. He's bloody right. I think I'd be a mess without music and literally just this second had an awful vision of being a heap in a dark hallway sounded by needles. I'm not saying people who are like that are something that should be frowned upon. Never judge! John Robb also lends his talents to legendary punk band The Membranes as well as Goldblade. I've been lucky enough to watch both over the years during my time living in Brighton, but never got the chance to meet John until his trip to Jersey with Tony McCarroll (Ex-Oasis) for the epic Q&A event hosted by Island Music as I was always on the move when I was at his previous concerts. John is a true lover of great music. His taste varies from rock'n'roll right through to punk, post punk, goth, synthwave, ska, reggae, indie, and avant garde. Not many write about music with such contemporary style giving the reader a true insight of what things were really like. That makes for a real true talent and one he most certainly delivers on without a doubt every time. I also loved his book on The Charlatans 'We Are Rock: Lessons In Pop Survival', which speaks for itself. The Charlatans are one of the longest running musical forces from their scene. I don't think they ever had many breaks between each album. They didn't record half as many albums as The Fall, but they may surpass them eventually as they still have quite a lot of time on their hands, who knows? John's book 'The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth' blew me away in the same way Simon Reynolds 'Rip It Up And Start Again' did. I generally related to so much of what he said and loved so many of the groups he mentioned and discovered a few as result of it. Just stuff you don't expect anyone else to know about. There's so much out there if you dig deep enough and make your own journey with music not just following the masses and become a sheep in the wind. I think more than anything that's the inspiration I get from John Robb. He gives that impression of there's some really great stuff out there if you want it, if not that's up to you. Pure freedom of choice! Kudo's to the man. a real revelation.
