I have so many memories of Colin. I saw conflict quite a few times during the 80's; although my first memory is quite vivid. I saw Conflict, The Lost Cherries and The Icons of Filth at Woolwhich Polytechnic in 1985. I was only 15 years old and told my parents I was going round a mates house, but hopped on a bus with a couple of my mates and went to what was my first punk gig.
At the start, I don't mind saying, this was the scariest gig I'd ever been to ... but my mate said lets go down the front and I remember just diving into a sea of bodies in front of the stage and just bobbing around; kind of like years later when I took up skydiving, it was scary anticipating the first jump, but then you go for it and are like ... bloody hell, this is brilliant.
We missed the bus home and walked through the night to London Bridge. It was then I thought, well, I'm in the shit with my parents anyway, so I can either be in the shit and give them a call and tell them I'm okay, or not and risk getting a right bollocking about them being worried. So I called them and yep, I was in the shit.
But, that really didn't matter very much because my world had completely changed and it was well worth it. I listened to every Conflict song and thought, "Wow, someone knows how I fucking feel ... someone can express how angry I am at all the injustice in the world" ... and what's more, from then on, there's never been a point in my life where I've thought what Colin sang so genuinely about, was for real. It wasn't just pretend anger to flog a few records. This man was for real, he meant everything and I just admire him so much for always sticking to his guns, never giving up on his principals and being an example to so many that we don't have to simply give up the fight for justice in this world.
Colin, you meant a lot to me and I will never forget you. So you're not really gone, you live inside millions of peoples souls.
Rest in Punk Colin. (and thank you for putting the mic in front of my mouth and letting me sing a few lines of Tough Shit Mickey - If I remember correctly, this was at the Hammersmith Palais around 1986 - Colin must have clocked that I was singing along to every word and held the mic down to me and I belted out a few lines ... and I've always thought ... ha ... I sang a duet with Colin from Conflict ... and that's something I will carry fondly in my memory until the day I die)
