See that wee picture over there on the right,

That was me. I am very much older now. Oh, if I had only known then what I know now.

They were good days, I was twenty years old and was singing with a small band, of course I was the singer, the singer gets the girls.

The group was called "The Downbeats", and we were pretty good, we had a resident booking at Brighton, and made a living, well, almost a living, but in those days, who cared , as long as I could hand in my share to the house once a week.

Raye played the drums, Darryl and Mick on guitars. If it was in the top twenty we did it, or, as close as to be recognisable by our peer group, and, the others, with a few pints of beer down their throats, couldn't care less.

I had to learn the words, couldn't afford to buy the "hit" record by the artist, but, Woolworth's own label, was it called Embassy?, covered the songs, their records were cheaper, and that's how I learned the words. Didn't always get them right but as the audience didn't know any better, I got away with it, my parents were not particularly enamoured by the continual playing of the same record, specially as it was one line at a time, as I wrote them down, and by the end, the record, a 78 rpm, was knackered.

You wont believe it, but, we were signed up with R.C.A. records, I think that they were signing up every Tom, Dick, and, Harry, and went for auditions for t.v. shows but, I presume, we were not good enough, and come to think about it, we probably were not.

A year later I was in London, talk about "from a little pond into a bigger pond", Raye and I made a record, last time that I met Raye, many years ago, he still had the disc, not a d.v.d. but, at least by then, a 45 rpm disc.

I have never regretted those days, they were great fun and I would have always looked back and wondered, if I hadn't had a go, would I have made it?.

That reminds me of a website where I found these examples of words that were not quite right,

Donuts make my brown eyes blue.
Actual lyric. Don't it make my brown eyes blue.
(Crystal Gale)

All my luggage, I will send to you.
Actual lyric: All my loving, I will send to you.
(Beatles)

The bride bless the day, the dogs say goodnight.
Actual lyric: The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.

Are you going to starve an old friend?D
Actual lyric: Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
(Simon & Garfunkel)

These are examples of what are called "mondegreens", and I found them on, www.corsinet.com-Brain Candy