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Writer's pictureTom Monks

Age.

26 is a weirder age to be than it should. If I was in pop-land I'd have been sent by the majors to a metaphorical home by now. Even in rock, I'm on the verge of surpassing the lifespan of many of my inspirations who had a huge catalogue compared to my 2 songs.


But in my day to day life I'm always being made to feel like a kid. I get ID'd everywhere I go. Even at my own shows. I'm often told I'm too young to have even heard of the most famous artists in the world. Even The Beatles. A few months ago in Camden the organiser lectured me about I was probably far too young to remember Steve Irwin.


I don't know what it is that perplexes people. I may have visually frozen at 17 but I was born in 1996, not in a cave! But equally worryingly, I don't know when the ageism switch will inevitably flip into me being "tOo oLd", which I see far too many peers experiencing, even with decades left before nature's expiry date, even in increasing primes of ability.


So tell me. When does my 3 month shelf life commence?


I don't see age as a musical barrier or a defining point, and it shouldn't be. I've happily played to and shared stages with people under half and over three times my age - sometimes at the same time. It's as irrelevant as their eye colour.


There's zero consistency or correlation with age and musical tastes nor ability - people are people. I had an 90 year old man at a gig the other day requesting Robin Thicke (the answer was no), whilst kids on TikTok are trending Fleetwood Mac obscurities.


Anyway, food for thought, and unless I write a song about it, the to-do list for the album is swiftly shrinking. Actually, hold that thought; I've just seen a pen.


In the meantime here's a picture of me from 20 years ago. I was a big fan of The Beatles. And The Crocodile Hunter. See you soon x



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