UP ON THE ROOF:
Up on the roof of the Birmingham Library listening to the hum & hiss of a city so transformed I no longer recognise it as the miserable island I used to catch the X92 to as a kid. Back then it didn’t offer any hope for a boy desperate to realise his dreams. In the early ’70s Brum felt like a cul-de-sac, a twilight city where dreams came to die. There were few places where you could get a buzz, a visual thrill, Oasis, the Flea Market, the first Virgin Record shop in brown with aeroplane seats & a set of headphones for each so you could recline & listen, second hand gear shops full of cool road damaged stuff stencilled with the names of bands with record deals, all hinting at offering escape but not one of them showed me an exit out of the area or even a smile. Positivity was low around here in those days. So, what happened? Ever since we got here we’ve only been greeted with warmth, generosity & a positivity underpasses by anywhere I’ve been in the world! Had Birmingham felt like this when I was 18 I would never have left & the history of techno would’ve had one less name on the roll-call, ha ha ha!
(K)
Karl Hyde 
Does a place change?
Or a mind?*
Wow!! TechnO history would have been sad..
Had your feet stumbled on a different path!*
Thank goodness Brum was too weak to keep you back and silent. My ears and heart rate would have missed out on so much.
It has been redeveloped extensively, for the better I think. The Emerald city was always calling you, it was inevitable and inescapable. Thank goodness for that!
This year the shower is hot and the view is stunning as always both from the inside and the outside.
Yes, some places are like old wine, getting better with age 🙂
Beautiful
…and of course today I listening to a new version of Brian Eno’s Spider and I 🙂
I am so happy you guys have left an imprint in music. Your music has inspired my rhythm of life to change for the better! If it weren’t for you guys, my beat would have been much more dull. Thank you!
omg. you brought me back to the early nineties HMV/Virgin mega stores and their contaminated earphone stations. i spent many wasted/inspired moments there. i’m glad you escaped and are still creating. please come back to LA. That Hollywood Bowl gig was miraculous!