My favourite frontman

This might just look like a rather rubbish photo of me and some 40-year-old bloke with a scary grin but it means so much more to me.

To be able to understand the significance of this photo I will need to take you back to the 14th July 1994. I was an avid listener to Radio One's Evening Session at that time. My GCSE course work was produced with a soundtrack courtesy of Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq. It was an exciting time for music, especially for a 15-year-old, but the 14th July 1994 was a sad day for me.

The Wonder Stuff, an indie four-piece plus fiddle from Stourbridge, were one of my favourite bands. They had released their first single in 1987 but I didn't discover them until much later when a penfriend introduced me to their music.
I loved their songs as they were so full of energy, and they soon became my favourite band. However, just as I was getting into them their popularity seemed to decline. After releasing their fourth album the band decided to split.

I read all about the split in the NME. Their last gig would be a headlining slot at the Phoenix Festival - they would go out with a bang. I would have given anything to have been there but a 15-year-old with no money and no one to take her had to make do with the radio.

Luckliy Radio One played near enough the whole set of that final gig. I recorded it on to cassette and played it over and over again on my walkman, closing my eyes and imagining I had been there in the mosh pit.

Shortly after, the gig it was released on VHS and it was, of course, top of my birthday list. From then on, every 14th July I would wear my Stuffies T-shirt and watch the Phoenix gig. Sad I know, but I was a teenager then. Actually, this annual ritual went on until 2000 when I was officially in my early 20s. If ever the old question of "if you had a time machine, where would you go?" came up, my answer would always be - down the front at the Wonder Stuff's last ever gig.

Straight after the split, lead singer Miles Hunt presented a show on MTV called 120 Minutes. It was basically a new music show with Miles doing the links and the odd interview. It introduced me to some great bands including Veruca Salt, The Flaming Lips and Weezer.

Miles' stint as VJ didn't last long. He never did seem comfortable doing it and was soon back in the recording studio. His next band Vent did a couple of good tunes and he then recorded a couple of solo albums which were excellent. It was great to be able to buy new material and, although it was quite different from the Wonder Stuff, I loved it.

Then, at the end of 2000 I heard on the radio that the Wonder Stuff were going to reform for a series of London gigs. I thought I was dreaming - I couldn't believe it. I was living in Wimbledon at the time so I bought my ticket. I can't describe how it felt to think that I might actually be able to see my favourite band play live. It seems absurd to me now that they could have been so important to me even before I had experienced one of their live shows.

I sang every word to every song that evening and it was all very emotional. The Wonder Stuff played a week of sell out shows in December 2000 and then again the next year. The band released a live album following the reunion gigs and I was lucky enough to win tickets to the album launch on 7th June 2001. The launch was fantastic and it was great to see the band play in a small venue. Afterwards we hung around and I managed to get Miles to sign my ticket. I grabbed hold of his arm and couldn't let go! He could never understand how important it was to me to have been able to see his band play live after all those years. Not many bands get back together again after a split. I wanted to tell Miles this, to thank him for his music, to ask about the band's future.... but all I could come up with was, "You're the best!". He said thank you with a look of genuine appreciation on his face.

I discovered at this time an internet forum for the band, full of fans who felt the same way as me, and it became my source of news and gossip. The Wonder Stuff had a change of line up in 2004 and released two new albums. They've also gigged fairly regularly since and I have not missed a tour, treating every time I see them as if it is the last. Miles also played acoustic shows at the Half Moon in Putney and, as I had been living in Guildford, I was able to get to them easily. I think we went to the Half Moon three times and through those gigs were introduced to the music of Dharma Drive and Dolittle.

We moved back to Norfolk last year and I thought that would be the last I would see of these great acoustic shows as they normally take place in either Putney or Stratford-Upon-Avon but on 23rd May this year I got lucky!

Miles and Wonder Stuff fiddle player, Erica Nockalls, released an album and set up a tour to promote it. One venue they chose was the Norwich Arts Centre - already a special venue for me as it is where I first met my husband. After a great gig last Wednesday I got to meet my favourite frontman again. He signed my CD and put his arm around me for a photo. I chatted to him more easily this time and he thanked me for coming to the gig.

I consider myself to be a very lucky girl.


The Wonder Stuff then




The Wonder Stuff now




Miles in action




My signed CD