Cigarettes and cocaine
Thursday, January 3, 2008 I first saw Squeeze in 1978 when they shared the bill with Eddie and the Hot Rods and a band called Radio Stars at the Music Hall, Aberdeen. Three years later I caught them at London's Hammersmith Palais. I've also seen them play Hammermith Odeon (1985 and 1989), the Royal Albert Hall (1987), and the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow (1993).
I missed the recent reunion tour (which didn't feature Jools Holland) but, to make up, I have been reading their former pianist's amusing autobiography, Barefaced Lies & Boogie-Woogie Boasts. If you get past the awful title, it's a quite a good read, and on page 210 Jools turns the spotlight, briefly, on cigarettes and cocaine:
There are lots of things that are very bad for you but they tend to have at least one or two good aspects to them. Cigarettes, for instance, smell great, look great, feel great, the packaging is great, you look more glamorous with a cigarette - everything about smoking is great apart from the fact that it kills you after disabling you horribly. That's the bad bit. Obviously there has to be a good bit, or nobody would smoke, would they?
Now, with cocaine, I actually think the truth of it is that everything about it is bad. It's hard to see any positive aspects to it at all, other than the ability it gives you to talk non-stop rubbish to your friends or to people of a similar disposition. You hear about drug-fuelled orgies but, if cocaine increases the desire for such activities, it doesn't help your ability to engage in them ... I'm no drugs tsar but I wouldn't advise anybody to touch it in the first place.
This is as serious as this gentle, rambling (and surprisingly discreet) book gets - but I thought you might like to comment.
Reader Comments (5)
Happy New Year Simon and all the contributors. The only problem with commenting on something like this, one may ramble on into the domain of too much information. However I have what psychologists might call an addictable personality. While I like a good drink and a smoke, and my other vice is playing poker (genuinely profitably) on line and live, I have never touched class A and B drugs. I also have no intention of either. What I have learnt from smoking is that if I cross the rubicon into the world of coke etc there may well be no bridge to come back on. It is one aspect I would like to ask Professor West and his "nicotine addiction" clinics, as someone who is an "expert" on addiction he must know that when one addiciton is cured it is normally replaced by another. For example most alcoholics take up smoking after going dry and in California smoking is down and prescription anti-depressent drugs are being prescribed at record levels. My general point is if we all gave up smoking what would we take up instead, train spotting, the gym or will we be on a slippery slope to class A, B or C drugs?
Jools Holland and his show should be put out to pasture. He has become part of the establishment and his bland blues attempts ring extremely hollow. If the rebellion of rock and roll still existed on his show, someone would have smoked on the New years eve Hootenanny, but no-one dared! It's all fake, and now just a promotional vehicle for artists' new albums. He's become like a NuLabour musician. His comments about smoking are way off the truth,so he's just as brainwashed as the rest of the BBC.
Things need shaking up badly. Lennon would have had a fit if he'd seen it!
It's not just California, Dave, that are prescribing anti-depressants at record levels. The Mental Health branch of the NHS is really struggling to keep up with all the additional referrals since before the ban, where just the thought was affecting some people badly!
Of course, the government and their cronies conveniently ignore this fact. Of course, mental illnesses can actually be more deadly than smoking any way, as some people become so depressed that they take their own lives. I believe, but cannot swear, that suicides have increased over the last year too.
Of course, now that they are attacking drinking and obesity I can see this problem getting even worse; but the government have got an answer for that - the NHS should stop treating people who smoke, who drink excessivly and those that are obese! Wonderful system they have, don't you think. Trouble is many of us have paid thousands of pounds over the years towards funding the NHS, but many of us could now be denied that for which we have paid! Something wrong there, I feel.
To Lady Jane Grey,
I think the government has shot itself in the foot by threatening to withdraw treatment for fatties, smokers and drinkers. Quite reasonably most of us have said good, now refund my contributions and tax me proportionately to the services I use. While we are at it can you refund the taxes I pay for education as my daughter since 12 has been educated privately. Also when you look at the state pension versus what you get from a proper investment manager like Legal and General Investment Management, can I run my own private pension and unemployment benefit scheme as I am damn well sure they will do a better job than Commissar Clown and the Muppets. I don't whether you know but in private medicine for every 3 administrators employed there are 10 in the NHS per patient per doctor.
Dave
It really doesn't suprise me that there are so many administrators in the NHS, once they did away with the good, old fashioned Matron the system went to pot! It is about time Matron was brought back.
A few years ago now my grandfather was in hospital and there were 2 nurses for abut 30 beds, one of whom was on a double shift due to staff shortages, but for that ward there were half a dozen administrators, none of whom were qualified to put a sticking plaster on anyone! I bet they were being paid more than the nurses too! This country has been a disgrace for a number of years now, but instead of getting better it just gets worse.
I believe we need a revolution - well something has to give eventually, surely?