A Fan's Story

I first saw the Kicks supporting the Expresso's at the Marquee in November 1980 and fell in love

 with their music immediately. The tunes were good, the three-guitar line-up gave a lot of depth to

the sound and the lyrics were clever and humorous.

The following week, I was at home reading Sounds when I noticed they were playing in Eton that

very night. I lived in Fulham and it was already about quarter to eight but I rushed down to Putney

Station and got a train to Windsor & Eton. By the time they’d finished their set, I’d missed the last

train back, but they were so good I’d rather have slept in a field than leave early. I’d heard Alan say

on stage that they came from North London, so after the gig I asked him if they had any room for a

lift. He said no, but he arranged me a lift with two car-loads of people who were going back to London, 

which involved stopping to push the car several times, to get it started again whenever it stalled.

They dropped me off at Clapham Junction and I never saw them at any gig again!

I continued going to see the band, who always got good audiences at frequent gigs in the Windsor

and Slough area (I soon realised you could get a very late train back to Paddington) but attracted

less of a following in London. A frequent venue was the Christopher Hotel in Eton. It was next to

some holiday cottages, the residents of which were none too happy with bands loading gear a few

feet from their front door at one o’clock in the morning. The fiercely patriotic Kicks were particularly

pleased when the venue displayed an England flag for St George’s Day.

At that time the band used to start with “Bullet In My Heart”,

and other songs included “Get Off The Telephone”, “Look

What Happened To Major Tom”, “If Looks Could Kill”,

“The Girl Said No”, “00862”, “I Wish I Was Dead”, the

show-ender “Camphill Go Go”  and ”I Want You”, which

sounded a lot like “Every Step You Take” by the Police,

even though it was written first! They played two cover

versions: a good version of “Eleanor Rigby” as well as

the Rolling Stones’ “Stupid Girl”.

By the end of 1981 I’d seen them over 50 times. At that time,

good live bands were thin on the ground. Many bands relied

on synthesisers - not very conducive to playing gigs - and

guitar bands’ music was usually too gloomy to make an

exciting live show.

My friends Jim and Stuart also became fans of the Kicks. I’d never seen so many good looking girls

following a band, and as a result I managed many a kiss. I still have many pictures of these girls, and

of the band itself. I took the Bridge House picture which is on the web site (see below): I must have

given them a  copy at the time. Three of the girls lived near me in Fulham. I became good friends with

a dance-teacher named Sue. She sometimes gave me lifts to gigs and we later followed a band called

the 45s. Another regular follower was Eric, who had somehow become a fan of the band despite

being aged about 60!

For some reason, the band sometimes played gigs at army barracks. The gig list they handed out one night

included “RAF Hyton, near Hungerford”. On the day of the gig I caught a train to Hungerford and was

walking round a roundabout when the band’s van stopped and picked me up. It was a good thing they did,

as I probably wouldn’t have been able to get past the security gate otherwise. 

At the Bridge House in 1981, the band announced that they were changing their name to We’re Only Human.

The song with that name was debuted that night, with its distinctive David Bowie riff. It was punk that had

originally started me going to see small bands, but Alan was in love with the Rolling Stones and wouldn’t

hear a word said against them, though to me they were faded dinosaurs. With the name change came a new

harder, more rock sound, influenced by the Rolling Stones, and Alan stopped playing guitar. We're Only

Human had some nice songs such as “Listen To Me” and “The Living Dead” but others weren’t as good

as the previous, more tuneful ones which were gradually being dropped - except for the perennial

"I Want You".

Sometimes after gigs, I went back to the house in Highbury

where the band all lived, and found out the band was

actually set up as a limited company, and had to register

their change of name with Companies House! It was when

their rental at that house expired that they decided to end the

band. The last gig was on January 30th 1982 at the Pied Bull

in Islington. It was a good day for me because in the

afternoon, my football team Fulham had moved to the top

of the third division, so I’d already had many celebratory

drinks before going to the gig. I jumped on stage during the

show, and afterwards I fell asleep on the night bus and

ended up at Heathrow, but it was a great night.

I was left with no less than 55 demo songs they’d taped for me from time to time, including a tape they sold at

gigs entitled “A Short SharpKick In The Stots”, as well as many gig hand-outs, a few press cuttings and a

personalised Christmas card from the band - all of which I've still got!

From July 1983, the band did occasional re-union gigs (Alan had got a job at Harrods), usually at the

Clarendon in Hammersmith or the Greyhound in Fulham, playing new songs like “I Wouldn’t Treat A Dog

The Way You Treat Me”. The last time I saw them was in March 1986; they may have done further gigs

but by then there were good bands playing in London every night.

The last I heard of Alan was when Jim spotted him in a fly-on-the-wall television programme

entitled “The Sex Hunters”. Alan clearly favoured the all-lads-living-together lifestyle: he was

one of about five lads filmed working at a holiday camp in the summer, all living together in

one caravan.

I met my wife through going to see bands (though not until 1985). We live in Camden Town and still go

and watch new bands to this day!

John Shirley

2007