The Chauffeur

HHhhmm it seems to be video week on the Hobbit’s Journal and seemingly black and white videos too!

Back in the early 80’s I was a mere hobbit teen who used to love his music and buy Smash Hits magazine every week for the gaudy coloured flexi disk and tacky centre page poster. I did have a stereo but it was archaic and my folks used to screech at me from downstairs if I played it too loud. I did have an escape for music though. I used the single deck cassette player I had for my first computer, the rubber keyed Sinclair ZX Spectrum. Dad converted the box room into a sort of study for me and as the room perched over the stairwell of the house the sounds emanating from it didn’t attract too much attention. So, when a game was loaded into the Spectrum (or Speccy as I called it) then a music tape would go on.

You see, back then there wasn’t cd’s, it was vinyl or tape, and taping music was usually done from the Bbc’s radio’s top 40 countdown on a Sunday evening. There wasn’t cheap stereo’s like you got these days either, no Argos or Comet back then, so you made do with what you had, and I loved that little black cassette deck I had. For hours I would sit and listen to either radio tapes, things taped from vinyl or tapes that friends would do for you. One song that sticks in my mind from that angst ridden acne faced teenage era is ‘The Chauffer’ by Duran Duran. The song is so spooky with a definite edge - it still makes me tingle even now. I guess for many it’s largely an unknown track of theirs but for the fans it still remains very popular. When I saw them 2 years ago at Wembley they played it and I had this sudden rush of nostalgia.

Ironically a few other Duran Duran songs that bring back memories too.

So here’s ‘The Chauffer’ in its uncensored glory.