I was in my high school common room the first time I heard The Libertines. My friend Jamie – already writing reviews for the NME and well ahead of me in the aspiring journalist stakes – pulled from his bag the Time For Heroes single and slid it into the aging CD player. Its opening chord shattered the peace of the free period and Pete Doherty’s languid vocals, at odds with the frantic pace of the guitars, filled the sparse, depressing space with colour. It felt like falling in love at first sight.
Soon after, we discovered going out and getting drunk. At the weekend we would scrape together the money from our part time jobs, get the train into Glasgow Central, and look down our noses at the goth kids outside the Cathouse we used to try to fit in with. We’d make our way to Mr Ben’s, try on the red and navy blue army dress jackets that Pete and Carl and The Strokes wore but we couldn’t afford, and afterwards head to Firewater (or the Barfly – RIP) with fake IDs and drink endless Jack D and Cokes.
It’s reassuring to walk down Sauchiehall Street now – headed to Sleazy’s or Broadcast or The Black Sparrow, now that we’re older – and see legions of shaggy-haired, stylish kids still congregating outside our old watering hole. We might have moved on from the indie alma mater, but they keep on pumping out classic punk, Britpop, Madchester and new wave, and a new generation of Libs devotees keep lapping it up. Guitar music’s place in current pop culture might be pretty miniscule, but the old classics maintain, and those hazy vibes of summer 2004 will not go down without a fight.
Q: Who’s your dream festival headliner?
1. Claire Hyndman, 20, Musselbrough, “Chris Brown”
Eilidh Bowers, 20, Paisley, “Justin Bieber”
2. Molly McQueen, 19, Easterhouse, “Paolo Nutini”
Denise Heron, 20, Paisley, “First Aid Kit”
Joe Docherty, 20, Glasgow, “Gorillaz”
3. Rachel McCann, 20, Clydebank, “The Killers”
Amy Dyson, 21. Kilwinning, “The Courteeners”
4. Hope Ross, 18, Dumbarton, “Stevie Wonder”
Emma Monaghan, 19, Dumbarton, “Prince”
Rachel Linden, 19, Dumbarton, “Mumford and Sons”
5. Nicci Hunter, 20, Newton Mearns, “One Direction”
Shweta Shwalw, 19, Newton Mearns, “Coldplay”
6. Heather Gibson, 19, Glasgow
Favourite Club? The Garage
Favourite Bar? Firewater
Favourite DJ? Kygo
Favourite Band? Coldplay
First Club? Kushion
What You Drinking? Vodka & Coke
Describe Your Dancing? Amazing
7. Vivek Shrestha, 19, Newton Mearns, Muse
Thomas Clark, 19, Newton Mearns, Kygo
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