6.1.22 Ege Bamyasi

 The little moments that bring up the people who are gone:

I was in the car on the way home from the match today (noon kick off); the phone ins and analysis had ended by the time I got to where I was parked so I had 6 Music on. Guy Garvey was playing 'Smoke' by The Smile, which Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood from Radiohead and a drummer whose name and CV I've forgotten.

I didn't expect much from the song, Radiohead lost me a long time ago, but Guy compared it to Can's song Vitamin C and the way Talk Talk used woodwind, so that's enough to make me listen. It was excellent; melodic, haunting, rhythmic and the vocals had the clarity that Radiohead had before they discovered the  strategy of deconstructing tunes as a way to confound and confuse.

Then Guy played Can's Vitamin C to show us what he meant.

As I reached Dunnings Bridge on the last stretch home (with the traffic to the M57 junction becoming hideous) he played Bob Marly - No Woman No Cry (live from The Rainbow).

And these are both the same person for me.

Si made me a tape of Can, back when we both worked in Church Street. Told me to listen to it as I'd get it, that all my favourite bands had listened to this stuff, had been influenced by it. I'd heard of Can but never heard them. I played it and went, "Oh so that's where Happy Mondays got everything from?"

If there was a group who were going to be interesting in any genre, Si had already heard them. Not in a smart arsed 'yeah, I was into them before you were' way, just in the way of someone who knew their stuff, knew what was worth hearing and made sure he sought it out. Sought it out, played it, loved it, told others about it.

In the same way that he'd read the books you intended to read and had the opinion about them that you needed before you knew you needed it, had seen the films you meant to see, was onto the TV that you needed to know. Seemed to have more time to take all this stuff in than the rest of us realised we had.

Horribly, taken far too young. One of the nicest, smartest, coolest blokes you've ever meet.

No Woman No Cry is him as well. It's from when he was my assistant manager in Speke and I finally brought up a question that had plagued me for years: "Is there a version of No Woman No Cry that *isn't* live?"

He knew the answer, told me where I'd find it. I've never listened to it. Just knowing it was there was enough.

We spoke about geography once. He pointed out that the first thing you learn in geography was 'Oxbow lakes' - I'd never heard of them. So he told me what they were and pointed out that any time anyone mentioned oxbow lakes I'd think of him.

Nobody ever mentions them but I still think of the fact that if they did then I'd think of Si.

I think of Si a lot.