Craic On

David Bowie and Me

Many years ago, my wife was friendly with a Japanese girl in London.

She got to know her through me.

I worked for Japanese car company, Honda, in Chiswick in London as an IT Projects Manager as a contractor.

It was a hard place to get to by public transport in London.

So, it was a stroke of luck that the translator for the big Japanese boss, Mr Yoshida, lived in Maida Vale like I did.

Kuneka Taylor

Her daughter, Alice, became my daughter’s best friend. They were of similar age.

Her name was Kuneka Taylor.

No, she wasn’t half Japanese and half English.

She was married to an Englishman.

Brian Eno his Best Friend

This Englishman, whom I met a few times, was in the music business.

Indeed, his best friend was Brian Eno.

Brian Eno used to play with Roxy Music.

He then went on to become a music producer.

Indeed, he produced three David Bowie albums in the late seventies and early eighties.

They were so close that David Bowie called Brian Eno his soul mate.

Eno won a Grammy just a couple of years ago.

Invited to Rock Star’s Home

Anyway, Kuneka and her husband had split up but he still got to see his daughter at the weekends.

So, one day my wife came with a request.

She said that Kuneka’s husband was going to take his daughter Alice down to Brian Eno’s country mansion in the stock broker belt in Surrey.

He had asked if Alice could bring my three-year-old daughter, Rhea, the apple of my eye, down to the rock star’s mansion for the weekend, too, as a companion.

I knew that Brian Eno and Bowie were very close and I had heard of wild drug-crazed, rock star parties at country mansions.

I was a big fan of Bowie’s music but I was far less keen on my three-year old daughter hanging around at a rock star party involving the louche David Bowie and others of his circle.

That was a different matter!

Offer Turned Down

I said No!

My wife kept asking me many times and my daughter wanted to go.

I stood my ground!

She wasn’t going!

My daughter still mentions my ‘crazy’ decision now and again.

Meet with Rock Stars

She would have met Brian Eno (whom I saw ast night on TV talking about his friend and soul mate Bowie).

She may even have got to meet David Bowie and other top stars of rock and roll. even if she didn’t meet them that time who would probably have been invited back as Alice’s best friend and companion.

So, what would you do if your three-year old daughter got invited to a rock star’s country mansion for the weekend without you being there?

I’d never met Brian Eno and I’d only met Kuneka’s husband a couple of times.

He seemed a slightly odd fellow – but I suppose he probably wouldn’t be hanging out with Brian Eno and David Bowie, if he wasn’t slightly odd, would he?

He looked at me in an odd way. It was in a friendly way but still a little strangely. I couldn’t quite put my finger one it.

So, should I have let her go? What do you think?