Derek Brasshouse, 54, an accountant in Rochdale Borough Council’s swimming pool department, considers himself to be still ‘with it’ because he enjoys new bands like Radiohead and the Foo Fighters.
He told the Herald that while he will always prefer the previous generation of rock bands, the newcomers ‘deserve my attention and respect’.
‘My preference is for the evergreen sounds of Barclay James Harvest, Yes, Caravan and, of course the masters, Supertramp, yet I still have time for the nouvelle vague of the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay and Pulp.’ He is not averse to the more ‘rock’n’roll’ bands either. ‘The Foo Fighters, Greenday and Offspring will take some beating for sheer energy, even if they are American. They have reinvented the hard driving beat of Boston, Chicago and Foreigner, added their own twist and made it relevant for the zeitgeist of the noughties and, er, teenies.’
Derek Says that he is very fond of festivals. ‘I never miss Glastonbury or Reading,’ he tells us, ‘and if it goes on too late, or clashes with the cricket, I will record it. That way I can keep in touch with the latest acts such as Fun Loving Criminals or those other ones.’
‘My kids and their friends think I’m really ‘down’ with them, even if these days I find it hard to get back up again hahaha!’ Asked if he likes grime, dubstep or garage, he replied, ‘Well, as you get older it is difficult to keep up with all the new bands but I will certainly look out for The Grime’s latest CD in HMV.’
Derek’s daughter, Bryony, said, ‘OMG, dad’s such a loser. Me and my brother Jake once told him in, I think, 2005 that he was cool for liking Killing in the Name Of and he’s never forgotten it. Anyway, whatever he says, he only ever plays Genesis, post Gabriel of course, or 10cc in the car, except when Jake’s girlfriend Aisha is around.
Then he plays Kula Shaker – ‘just for you, Aisha’. Soooo embarrassing.’
