Five Years?……42 More Like
It seems incredible that we are fast approaching a year since the launch of We Did Our Homework On the Bus.
I’ve promised to update this website more regularly so am grateful for this little anecdote from two of the more musical St Mary’s old boys - Sidcup’s Ralph Clayton who joined the school in 1972 and Orpington’s Joe Brock who followed him a year later. Both are brilliant musicians - keyboard wizards if you like!
The years Ralph and Joe joined are significant actually as they were when David Bowie was in his pomp and in a rich vein of form, issuing three superb albums Hunky Dory (1971), Ziggy Stardust (1972) and Alladdin Sane (1973).
The Songs of David Bowie book contains many classic numbers from these albums including Life On Mars?, The Jean Genie and Starman and it is a fine collection of sheet music.
It also contains the dystopian Five Years, the opening track of Ziggy Stardust.
What’s this got to do with St Mary’s?
Well, it seems like back in 1980 Ralph lent Joe his copy of the book with the usual warm-hearted words of ‘take your time Joe, no need to hurry back with it.’
Joe took the book home and got to grips with the likes of Suffragette City, John I’m Only Dancing and Changes.
Then life got in the way and both Ralph and Joe went their separate ways.
The years passed and Joe still had the Bowie book in his possession.
Joe who borrowed Ralph’s book in 1980
Prime Ministers came and went - Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss - still Joe had the book.
The internet arrived, satellite TV came, a monarch passed away, we all got mobile phones.
Finally, at the launch of ‘Homework’ on 1 October 2022 at the old school Joe realised he still had Ralph’s book.
Come the big day, Joe arrived at the school and immediately sought out Ralph, who takes up the story:
“Imagine meeting someone you’ve not seen or spoken to in forty years and their first words to you are: ‘Hold on I’ve got something in the car for you.’ What could it possibly be?!
Golden Years: Ralph was astonished to reclaim his book 42 years later
“Minutes later he appears with ‘The Songs of David Bowie’ songbook that I lent them and had been meaning to return. What a surprise!
“Of course it should have been returned within 5 years!”
“In Bowie chronology I would have lent it around the time of Scary Monsters - scary indeed!
“Thanks to Joe Brock for remembering all those years (I had forgotten) and Matt Eastley who wrote the book that triggered the event that sparked the meeting that enabled the reunion.”