Me. Me. Me. Me. Me.

About 10 years ago, I saw Trevor Beattie deliver a talk to a room full of creatives. Big names in the industry generally have a well put-together presentation that’s available for whenever they need to give a speech, so presumably many people got to see it over the period of a couple of years. The content is usually: This is the work I’ve done; this is why it’s great; you too could be like me if you follow my lead (well, probably not); thank you very much; I’ll be feigning interest in anyone who wants a chat afterwards; and no you can’t have a job.

I guess true to who he is, Trevor’s was a little different. He talked about his heroes. From what I can remember, they were the following: John Lennon, Muhammed Ali and Buzz Lightyear. So, for this inaugural post, I thought I’d do the same. Albeit more in the form of a list than a talk about each of them. “Why?” you say. Because it generally makes for interesting reading, you get to know a little bit about the writer, and I hope it’ll help to kick-start this blog. Consider it an open invitation to add your own.

Here goes:

Books/Writers: Norman Mailer, Salman Rushdie (particularly Midnight’s Children and The Moor’s Last Sigh), Gore Vidal, Martin Amis (Time’s Arrow is the work of genius).

Music: (could be a long list, this one) The Velvet Underground, Orange Juice, The Smiths, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, The Jam, Echo and the Bunnymen, John Lennon, Prefab Sprout, Bruce Springsteen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, The Jesus and Mary Chain, The Bee Gees, Pale Fountains, Bob Marley, Glasvegas, Joy Division.

Films: Truly, Madly, Deeply, Taxi Driver, Rocky, Scarface, The Godfather, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Happy Gilmore, Bad Santa, Groundhog Day, The Big Lebowski, The Deer Hunter, Pulp Fiction, True Romance

Comedians: Bill Hicks, Jerry Sadowitz, Spike Milligan, The Mary Whitehouse Experience, Louis CK.

TV: The Wire, The Sopranos, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Californication, Weeds, Lost, 24, The Office, The X-Files, Cheers (I’m forgetting some).

Inventions: The phone, the telly, the internet, the Wonderbra.

Sportsmen/women: Kenny Dalglish, Danie Gerber.

So there it is, Andrew in a nutshell. If I had half the talent of anyone, or anyone responsible for anything, on the list, I’d be a happy little camper.