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They did tell us at school… But it’s not what they taught us… There’s a big difference between telling and teaching… And sometimes Woz looked and sounded… Like he could remember it all… But that would be unusual… Page after page… About the causes of the Great War… And then they said… As a sort of aside… “Oh, and war also functions as a population control”… Like it was an accidental by-product… And not the real reason for war at all… All those pages of causes… Political Theatre… Bill got a ‘Bruce Foxton’… And was mercilessly ribbed… Woz got a ‘Bowie’… And was universally lauded.
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Haircuts can make or break a man… Boys also… We certainly weren’t men… We probably thought we were… Maybe our prolonged boyhood was recompense… For having it shortened in the Great War… Should have left school at fourteen… Didn’t leave till sixteen… And then… Sixth-form… No escaping it… Besides… Children are easier to control… Think about that one… And in any case… There were no jobs… Despite which… A job was somehow procured… Slater was not pleased… But only because Bill’s mum put in a good word… Otherwise… It would never have happened.
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Gainful employment… In those days… Afforded a measure of kudos… For some, at least… And allowed further forays… Into music… And fashion… Sixties programming… And people… People can be programmed… Obviously… But they are not intrinsically part of the programme… It’s a lot to take in… But it is irrefutable… Even in the history books they allowed us to keep… It can be seen… When at sea the shout is, ‘Man overboard’… At war the shout is, ‘Man down’… In our day it was, ‘Man about town’… More degradation… More of everything… Remember?… There may be a sea life in there too.
France & Vincent 