Regrets, I've had a few...and many of them concern
artists I never got to see in concert. Roy Orbison
is a prime example. Thanks to Dad's record
collection, I'd been listening to Roy Orbison
since before I could walk - to this day 'Running
Scared' can reduce me to tears. By June 1985,
however, neither Dad or I gave serious
consideration to travelling the barely one mile
from home to see him onstage at the Ipswich
Gaumont. Dad's tastes had moved away from 'pop'
towards the classics and I was concerned that, by
now, Orbison's performance would be a pale,
embarrassing, showbizzy, shadow of its former
glory, replete with lazy vocals and greatest hit
medleys.
A week later, I ran into a friend who'd attended the concert. My heart sank as he raved about the show, confirming what is now commonly known to be the case, that Roy Orbison never 'phoned in' a performance in his life, not even in the lean years. His voice, a magnificent mystery, hit every glorious note and continued to do so, right up to his untimely death in 1988, 25 years ago today.
