My brother Andy was cooler than I was.

He realised that listening to The Ramones was a far more credible option in the long term than starting out a musical education with ABBA. In all fairness though it didn't take me long to register that The Sex Pistols and The Stranglers were really where it was at.

Growing up I had realised the cultural necessity, of having a pet band that could fly the flag for how I saw myself. All the other kids had it sorted out and I felt I should get my act together… Like I said, ABBA and their perfect pop song 'Mumma Mia' became my starting point. I recall some disco tune, 'Play That Funky Music White Boy' also having a strange calling in it for me...

One afternoon though, I was hanging out at Jorge's place. Jorge was my best friend and his family was very cool. He was the youngest, with lots of older brothers and sisters and a huge collective album collection...

I found a Sex Pistols record, 'Never Mind The Bollocks'. At my age growing up in the lush middle class Sydney suburb of St.Ives, this was akin to experiencing your first porno mag. On that otherwise boring standard issue afternoon when I should've been at home doing my homework, my life took a radical left turn. I was transfixed and could not be moved from that old turntable as it belted out what amounted to the first communication I had ever received that made any sense. There was also The Stranglers album, 'No More Heroes', which had equally the same effect. I remember another friend, Felix, was there at the time. Felix was a guitarist and was into 'SuperTramp', which may explain why he wasn't into what I was listening to at all. Both he and Jorge, proceeded to lecture me upon the fact that Punk – in their opinion - wasn't exactly good music. I sat there nodding in feigned submission just so they would shut up and let me listen.