Remembering Alex Harvey

Alex Harvey died a day before his 47th birthday on 4 February 1982 and SAHB fans across the world have been remembering him on the 25th anniversary of his death.

People who knew Alex and the band much better than I did have written some good articles in remembrance of Alex, particularly this one in the Glasgow Herald, but I want to say something about what Alex meant to me.

I have posted entries earlier saying how good SAHB are today, and they are, but it all started with Alex.

Like many people of my generation, I first came across SAHB on the Old Grey Whistle Test where Alex's theatrics captured the viewer and made you realize that you were watching something a little different. Everything they did on OGWT was good but Give my Compliments to the Chef particularly stands out in my memory.

But there was lots of good music around then and so while I enjoyed SAHB I did not but any of their albums at that time. Then at the end of my first year at university (1976) in Southampton came the spur of the moment to go and watch the band play in town (students did not often go into town) which proved to be one of my better decisions. You know what they were like then from the various live recordings so I'll cut to the end which was about six of us drunk in a mini with the driver trying to get back to our hall without attracting attention while the rest of us thought that singing Delilah as loud as we could was a better idea! After that I bought the old albums and I still play them all today.

Twenty five years later the band is still touring and still playing the old songs, and doing so bloody well, but Alex is far from forgotten and I'm very pleased that the band still carries his name and respects his memory in their act. Thanks Alex, for everything.