On 7th December 1993, Aerosmith were signing albums at Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus that lunchtime, so off I went bright and early to queue up. Just in front of me, sitting on the pavement, was a long-haired young man wearing a leather jacket that looked custom-made, covered in Aerosmith-related symbols. Now, being English and therefore ingrained with the etiquette of queuing, nobody talked to anyone else for at least 2 hours (if we’d been American, it would have taken 5 minutes), but after that time as it was cold, clearly everyone was there with the same purpose in mind, and some of us could see Aerosmith through the window (!) we started to chat, along with the young woman in front of him.
Well, after about 4 hours we met the band and got our autographs, and once outside, we all agreed to meet up in a few days when we’d had our photos developed – remember that?! I was in my mid-thirties, Paul was a 17-year-old student, and Jenny was in her early twenties. A few months later we all got together at Donington Monsters of Rock.
On 7th December 2023, exactly 30 years later, all three of us met up again outside what used to be Tower Records at Piccadilly Circus.
In the intervening years, we’ve all become firm friends of the sort that you know you’ll have for the rest of your life, with our other friends and families being incorporated into ever-increasing circles. I’m not quite sure how this happened. Some said it was because we all liked Aerosmith, but apart from that we shared nothing much apart from a right to trial by jury. What is it that makes some friendships endure through the decades and others just fade away? I believe there’s a spark of chemistry when you meet someone who can become a good friend – it’s the same as falling in love, but without the romantic or sexual element.
Cheers, Paul and Jenny! (And thanks to the mighty Aerosmith.) xx
‘Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was, I had such friends‘ – W. B. Yeats
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