It was now Christmas of 1988, I can Remember this Period Quite Clearly as it was the First Christmas in a While, where I was in a Decent Paid Job Working for a Company with Fairly Easy Working Hours. The Previous Christmas I was in Self-Employment and Wondering where the Next Wages were Going to Come From! At the Day Center, I was Liking Working there and found the Job, Very Easy, in Fact I was getting that Well Organised that I was Beginning to get so Far ahead in Preparation etc, I was Finding Myself Sometimes with Nothing to do (Work Wise)! Having this Time on my Hands, was to Turn Out to my Dis-Advantage in the New Year, when My Boss Realised I was, Sitting around with Nothing to do, More of this Later!
Over that Christmas Period I had to do Food etc for a Couple of Christmas Parties for the Old People there and Staff, I Cooked all the Usual Christmas Stuff including Turkey and the Christmas Cake and Puddings, I had Made a Few Weeks Earlier! After Dinner/ Party, I Remember going into the Big Hall they had at the Day Centre, where they all used to Sit and Play Games etc, (as I said Previously all this was New to me, because I had Always Worked out of the Way in the Background) and I was asked to Join in Etc! This I did, Really because I had No Choice other than to do so, this as they say was "Making a Rod for my Own Back" and the Following Year, to my Surprise, was going to be Doing a Lot More of this Type of Thing!
Any way by Christmas Time of that Year, I was Glad when the Holidays had come Around. I Believe that Year Christmas Day was on a Sunday, so I Finished Work on the Friday 23rd December and had about 5 Days Off for Christmas and went back in for about 2 Days and then had another 2/3 Off for New Year! To Me Susan and the Kids this was Fantastic, Plus we had a bit of Money to Spend, Unlike the Previous Christmas, where we had No Money, through being Self-Employed!
So what had been a Bad Year, Most of the Time with having to Shut Down the Takeaway and then Eventually Going Bankrupt and all that the Crap that Brought upon us, I was glad to be in Work and earning Decent Money and having sometime Off! ========================================================
Now for Some Music, Back in 1989 the Great Johnny Bristol Recorded the Barrett Strong and Billy Always Track "Man Up In The Sky" It was on the "Motor City Record Label" which was Owned by Ian Levine, and they Specialized on Recording Former Motown Acts from Around 1989 to the Mid 90's. The Track was Recorded in the UK and also Part Produced & Arranged by Ian Levine.
During His Career "Johnny Bristol" had a Total of 6 Albums Released, and My Favorite Album was "Bristol's Creme" which was Released in 1976, I Clearly Remember Buying this Back Then, but of Course His Best Placed Record Ever was "Hang On In There Baby" his Debut Single from 1974, it Reached Number 2 on the US R&B Chart and Number 3 on the UK Pop Charts!
Incidentally this Track is Featured on a CD, which I'm Currently Selling on my Discogs Site, its a Compilation Album, Called "Soul Power" there are 16 Songs from Ian Levine's "Motor City Label" have a Look Here.
Working on the Rigs was a bit of an Eye Opener (for somebody who had been used to their Home Comforts and Dry Land) I remember one Incident that Happened during either My First or Second Trip!
I used to Cook all the Meals for about 25 Blokes at any one time, so I had to (obviously) get most Foodstuffs ready in advance.
So I got a Maintenance Man to put a Big Padlock on the Food Chiller/Fridge Door, as I had been told by the Previous Chef, that the Contractors I was looking after, were a Bunch of Animals!
So one day, I thought I would Cook about 6 Ducks for the next day and cook them Duck "A La Orange" for Dinner, after these were Cooked and Cooled off, they were put in the Chiller overnight (with the door Locked of course)!
The Kitchen area was left Unlocked at Night Times, for the Workers to get a Snack or Drink, I also used to leave a Tray of items in the Fridge, which were always Eaten by the next day!
Next Morning I went to Work, I could not believe what I saw, I put the Kitchen Lights on and there in front of me was the Big Chiller in the corner with both Doors hanging off!
Someone had been in the Kitchen during the Night before and took my Big Meat Cleaver out of the drawer and smashed off the Lock and both of the Fridge Doors, to get to the Food inside!
The 6 Cooked Ducks were all Half Eaten and all the Bones etc were thrown back into the Fridge, the previous Chef was right, these contractors were a bunch of Animals!
Of course Nobody ever owned up to Breaking into the Fridge or Eating the Ducks, but what did Happen was I Never Locked the Fridge at Night Times Anymore, nor did I ever leave them any more Treats (when I was off Duty) and I never Cooked anything in Advance again, everything was Cooked and Served on the Day, and all Meals were Quick and Simple to Prepare (nothing to elaborate)!
That was a Great Track, I remember this being played on the radio, the Year before I left School, it was taken from the Album of the same name, it turned out to be Johnny Bristol's Best Chart Placing Single and Album Ever!
The Single Charted in the US Pop Chart at Number 8, in the US R&B Chart at Number 2 and in the UK Pop Chart, it got to Number 3, the Albums Highest Placing was Number 7 in the US R&B Chart.
Johnny Bristol Re-recorded the Song in 1990 for Ian Levine's Record Label, have a look on the Page for a In- Depth Bio. incidentally, where the Video was Filmed, was in my Home Town!
Johnny Bristol had a Great Voice, I'm Surprised He never Recorded more Albums than he did, only 6.
