1996

I knew when I was 16, nothing could actually top that year.

This weekend's Glastonbury coverage reaffirmed the belief.  I got to listen to Pulp (ah, the broken-hearted memories!), Eels (soooooo cool to have loved them when I did), Placebo, Suede, so many more, and I knew for a fact that 1996 was the year that the party really did start and it was freaking cool.
I went to see my first gig in April 1996, taking a little road trip with Rosie, Anna, Cat and Rosie's dad to Southampton to see Ash supported by the 60ft Dolls and Bis ("sugar, sugar, candy POP!" - sometimes good music is nothing to do with talent, but with your friends making it so fun).  I remember we all stood outside waiting with the cool kids commenting snidely on our teeny bopper ways, Top Shop wraparound skirts combined with our shiny DMs, and realising just how far we had to go to actually look cool with these indie kid regulars.  But the gig itself, that was amazing.  I had been in love with Ash since Girl From Mars had truly hit the airways and was sickeningly jealous that these boys were just a couple of years older and living the dream.  The album had come out just two days before, we had all purchased the special edition with the secret tracks (rewind from track 1 to find them, sneaky). We had all listened to every song a thousand times and by the time we arrived even Rosie's dad knew all the words.  We got to the very front, discovered moshing, wondered if it would be worth a crowd surf, decided against it and sang our little hearts out.

By December, we were really cool though.  Another road trip, this time to the Cardiff Indoor Arena to see the Manic Street Preachers on their comeback gig following Richie Edwards' disappearance.  The band started with Australia and ended with You Love Us.  I shouted the words to every song in between and didn't want it to ever end.  I still think You Love Us being played to an incredibly over excited crowd is one of my favourite memories.  

Ash and the Manics are far from my favourites now, which is a little sad, and they didn't play Glastonbury either.  Which is okay because I felt grown up enough as it was listening to bands that I could sing to in my sleep and feeling a little smug as the young hip things are discovering the coolest thing since Leonard Coen (seriously I'll never get it) on their own.  But as the sun sets on another weekend in the sun, we can all raise our glass to the Cider Bus in the Sky and toast the year that made us who we are.

What is your favourite year?