Since we’re on the topic of DIY, we thought there would be no better person for our Pick Six than grassroots music aficionado Will Robinson of local record label and events promoter I’m Not From London...
Film
Withnail and I - 'I'm Not From London' is a direct quote from the film while also being something I said a lot when I moved up to Nottinghamshire. The film is about the end of an intense yet toxic friendship as two friends' lives take on new directions. I was living in a semi squat on Mansfield Road and we had a tree growing through our window, no toilet door or bannister with regular afterparties and uninvited guests from vagrants to actors. Finding out later that my friend Roxy Rob (RIP) was friends with Vivian Mackerrell on whom the character Withnail was based gave me an extra reason to love the film and it's easy to identify with the squalor and the comedy.
Book
Wonderland Avenue, it's an autobiography from Danny Sugarman, starting from when he was a young middle class Jewish lad in LA. He has ADHD and starts hanging around with his older neighbour when he's about thirteen. The neighbour is a roadie for Jim Morrison who takes him under his wing and he starts interning for the label, eventually managing Ray Manzarak, The Jones and Iggy Pop who lived with for a while and managed along with his $500 a day heroin addiction. The story is about his life, his recovery and his work in the 1970s and 1980s music industry.
Song
A Rainy Night in Soho, admittedly I might not have chosen this if it was not for me revisiting it a lot since Shane MacGowan's death recently. It's a melancholy ode to scarred love and it's very hard to even sing the song in the shower and challenge anyone to try it and not crack by the end of the line “You're the measure of my dreams.”
Holiday
I just got back from New Orleans. I was invited over for my cousin Martin's wedding and my parents needed driving around. My friends Jason and Ben offered to drive as I don't and we rented a 1970s Ford Mustang which was epic until it broke down on the motorway on the way there. We made a 'Z' movie when we were over there, acting with people we'd met on the way, and the fact that everywhere that it looked like a movie scene really started to blend the reality and the film we were part of. It's like the Amsterdam of America. We were over there around Halloween, it's a real party town. Even the muggers were friendly.
Notts Spot
Naomi and I really like Newstead Abbey and the little secret park adjacent to Woodborough Park. My son Vincent and I go Pokemon hunting and go to the market and cafe at the Sherwood Community Centre. It's a nice place to play and to reflect.
Meal
The Mayfair on Mansfield Road is a great family run restaurant and lets you bring your own booze in so we normally have our I'm Not From London Christmas meals there and are now regular aficionado's of succulent Chinese meals.
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