“Thanks for the record”, she said
As though this were just another twelve inch single
Mingled with A-ha and Bronski Beat
In the Woolworths’ display.
Dismayed by her words, I said proudly
That this was the 12” Japanese Import and
In short it was better than the ones you could buy in town
And certainly far more expensive.
“Why?” she said
“It doesn’t look Japanese. It has the same 12” dance mix,
With the same radio version and even the same b-side –
‘A Man Could Get Arrested’”
Suggested she, “so why is this one better?”
“I think you’re missing the point,” I said
Although it was true that the tracklisting was the same
Names on the sleeves remained unchanged
Neil Tennant’s East End Boys still chased West End Girls
Stephen Hague still created the remix and
Chris Lowe still looked bored.
It’s not that it cost more to buy, it cost more to find.
Behind the idea of buying this record is the idea
That you are worth the endeavour because
I’ve never been able to say the way I feel in words
Which I understand now through terms like “neurodiverse”.
Back then I was a rebel without a word
A poet of the blank verse
Using gestures no one understood to explain how I think.
She looked at me, expectantly.
I looked at her and said, “On this one the font is pink.”
A surprisingly true story about Christmas 1984.
It's a Queer Old Blog... 